Yolanda's clouded eyes welled with tears that looked like weeping blood.

"But Zachary… He was dragged into the machinery… and shredded to death!"

Mildred stood back up and dusted off her hands disdainfully. "Nice excuse, but where's his body if he's dead. I have to give you credit, though. You've all been so patient to play along with his little drama."

She turned away and refused to spare another glance at Yolanda and Mabel on the floor.

Just then, her phone rang. A soft, gentle voice came through the speaker, carrying a hint of grievance.

"Mildred, is Zachary still refusing to show up? My heart has been hurting even more these past two days."

Mildred's expression changed drastically at that. She rushed out of the shack and patiently soothed Orion Gifford on the other end of the line.

"Don't be scared, Orion. I'm on my way back right now."

At the door, she turned and barked an order at the bodyguards. "Keep a close eye on these two. Don't let them leave."

With that, she strode away.

Floating in the air, I followed her back to the villa to see the pale-faced Orion sitting on the couch. When he saw Mildred walk through the door, his eyes welled with tears.

"How did it go? Did you find Zachary?"

Mildred shook her head helplessly.

As a cyborg built by the Gifford family at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, Orion was capable of shedding tears just like a human. Right now, teardrops rolled out of his mechanical eyes.

"I gave him my mechanical heart that could last 100 years, but he intentionally tampered with his human heart just to hurt me."

He looked up, looking as pitiful as a kicked puppy. "I don't know what I did wrong, Mildred."

Mildred felt terribly sorry for him. "Don't worry. Even if he runs to the ends of the Earth, I'll surely bring him back. He's the one at fault here. I'll force his head down and make him apologize to you."

Watching from the sidelines, I laughed bitterly.

My heart had been perfectly healthy. Years ago, all Orion had to do was remark that he wanted to feel the warmth of a real human body, and Mildred had forced me to give him my heart.

From beginning to end, I never had a choice.

I was fully conscious when they cut it out of me and watched with my own eyes as they placed it in Orion's chest, beating anew in a cyborg's body. I had never done anything to tamper with my heart.

Mildred's voice snapped me back to reality. She frowned as if I were the insensible one.

"He actually got people to lie for him and claimed the mechanical heart I gave him failed. I send him so much money every month just to keep it charged, and he comes up with such a ridiculous lie!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she got.

"And he even owed money to loan sharks, all to support an intellectually disabled woman he calls his sister. When this goes to court, I'll make him cough up every dollar of his living allowance."

Orion quickly echoed her. "You were so kind to him, Mildred. How could he replace you with someone else?"

He leaned his head against her shoulder to comfort her, but a strange, unnatural glint flashed in his eyes.

Just then, Mildred's phone rang. She picked it up and found that it was the bodyguards calling.

"The two women are doing something strange, Ms. Gifford."

Mildred bolted to her feet. "Great! Zachary, you're finally willing to show yourself, aren't you?"

When I followed her back to the factory, the bodyguards led her to an open area, where we could see Yolanda and Mabel from a distance.

They were kneeling on the ground, bowing and praying for my soul. Their foreheads struck the stone slabs so hard they left smears of blood behind.

Mabel held something high above her head with sacred reverence. The sun caught the object and reflected a bright, blinding white light.

It was the slider bracelet I had worn for years.

Mildred rushed forward and snatched it, but Mabel gripped it with all her might. "This is Zach's, not for the bad guys! I'm not giving it to you!"

Mildred yanked it twice, but it wouldn't budge. Her face turned livid as she stared into Mabel's eyes and threatened, "I know you're nearby, Zachary Gifford. Do you have the heart to watch this idiot suffer?"

Mildred stood over Mabel and brought her foot down hard on the latter's leg.

With a sickening crack of the bones, Mabel screamed in agony, though her fingers remained fiercely locked around the bracelet, refusing to let go.

Up in the air, I was losing my mind. I threw myself at Mildred and tried to shove her away with everything I had, but the oppressive energy of her living warmth repelled my soul over and over again.

Mabel's leg was bent at a grotesque angle, yet she kept her grip tight on the bracelet. She looked where I was floating and locked her eyes on me, as if she could truly see me.

"See, Zach. I'm keeping your bracelet safe."

Tears streamed down my face. In my despair, I forced myself to ignite and burned away half of my remaining soul, but all it managed to do was make that mechanical heart, thousands of miles away, beat once.

But just that one beat was enough.

A second later, one of Mildred's men excitedly shouted, "Ms. Gifford! We've picked up a signal from the mechanical heart, and it's still beating! The source is nearby. It's moving!"

Looking down at the pulsing location signal on the phone screen, Mildred let out a cold laugh.

"I knew he was faking his death," she said. "Let's see where he can escape to this time."

She was about to get into the car when Mabel called out behind her. "Zach! Where are you going?"

Mildred froze in her tracks. She turned to see Mabel staring up at the empty sky, holding out her hands desperately as if she could see a real person.

"Zach! Zach, wait for me!"

Mildred's expression instantly darkened. She walked back and stared Mabel down. "You stupid bitch. Stop these stupid games."

Mabel ignored her. Her face was a mess of tears and snot as she pleaded, "Don't go, Zach. I'm scared. Wait for me."

Mildred raised her foot and stomped down hard on Mabel's other leg. There was another sickening crack.

Driven to madness, I flung myself forward and desperately clawed to hold Mildred back, but my hands passed right through her every time. Nothing I did worked.

For the first time in my life, I truly loathed her.

Mabel screamed in pain and shook violently all over. Still, she sobbed, "Zach! Zach, don't leave!"

Mildred looked down at her with utterly cold, indifferent eyes. "I'll come back and deal with you two after I find him."

With that, she strode away.

As I drifted in the air, my body felt lighter by the second. Forcing that mechanical heart to beat for a single second had drained the last of my strength. My soul was fading, as if pulled into the distance by some unknown force.

I didn't know how long it took for Mildred to arrive at the location the signal pointed to.

In the distance, a group of neighborhood kids was kicking a dirty object back and forth.

Mildred's breath caught in her throat. The red dot on her screen drew closer to the children as she approached them, until it completely stopped blinking.

A light rain began to fall from the sky as she slowly reached down and picked up the object on the ground. The drizzle washed away the filth and mud on the surface to reveal a familiar metallic casing beneath.

An ominous dread crept up within her.

She pressed the heart's activation switch, but this time, it remained completely still.