"When... When did you regain control?"
Zachary's voice shook. His phone slipped from his hand and struck the floor.
I touched the raw red marks darkening around my throat. The soft, obedient smile fell away. Whatever he saw in my eyes made him take a step back.
I smoothed the front of my evening gown.
"Mr. Gordon, the implant worked exactly as advertised."
I held his gaze, my voice perfectly calm.
"It could control my facial expressions, override my speech, and punish resistance with electrical shocks. But you forgot something. I wasn't merely your analyst. I helped build your company from the ground up. I designed the platform's core architecture and wrote much of its first-generation code."
His face tightened.
"Did you really think some illegal neural-control program could keep m
