Amelia Lancaster wasn’t just a billionaire. She was the mind behind Lancaster Systems, the world’s most powerful AI security architecture, used by governments and corporations alike. Pregnant with her first child, she had spent the past six months quietly stepping back from the spotlight, citing health, but in truth, she was focused on something much larger—Project Cressida, a revolutionary AI built to control every facet of her empire if anything were to happen to her.
Her husband, Richard, however, had other ideas.
He had once been a promising entrepreneur, but after their marriage, his ambitions wilted beneath Amelia’s shadow. No matter what venture he tried, investors flocked to her instead. What had begun as admiration soured into resentment. And with a child on the way, he saw the perfect opportunity: eliminate Amelia, and her absence would make him executor of the Lancaster estate… especially since, by all appearances, she had trusted him completely.
It was a lie he’d cultivated for years.
So, on a quiet Thursday afternoon, Richard offered a surprise.
“A private flight,” he said. “Just us. Over the coastline. You deserve some fresh air, love.”
Amelia hesitated. She hadn’t flown since the second trimester. But Richard’s smile was warm, and something about the way he cradled her hand made her want to believe—for just a moment—that maybe she was wrong about him.
So she agreed.
The Flight
The helicopter lifted off from a secluded pad outside Big Sur. Below, waves crashed against the cliffs. Above, seagulls danced in the thermals.
Inside, Richard’s hand was clenched.
He waited until they were over a deep stretch of water, no boats in sight. “I want you to see this view,” he said, unbuckling her seatbelt gently. “It’s like the world stops out here.”
She shifted forward, curious. He leaned in behind her, as if to kiss her neck.
And then—
A shove.
Amelia screamed.
But she didn’t fall.
Instead, she gripped the edge of the open door with surprising strength. Her fingers bled as the wind whipped around her. “Richard!” she gasped.
He lunged again—but she was ready this time.
With a twist of her wrist, she sent a small drone zipping from beneath her jacket. It latched onto the ceiling of the cockpit and flashed a red light.
“Recording in progress,” a voice announced. “All verbal and physical activity is now being streamed to the cloud.”
Richard froze.
“What the hell is that?”
Amelia pulled herself back into the seat, shaking but furious. “You didn’t think I’d notice the burner phones? The meetings in Singapore? The prenup clause you tried to change through your lawyer friend?”
His face paled.
“Project Cressida has been tracking you for months,” she said coldly. “Every call, every message, every cryptic email about my ‘exit.’ You were predictable. Greedy. And sloppy.”
The drone buzzed louder.
“I—” Richard began, but the cockpit filled with a soft beep.
“Lock confirmed,” said the drone.
Suddenly, the helicopter’s controls jerked. Richard tried to regain control, but the stick no longer responded.
“What the hell is happening?!”
Amelia leaned back, buckling herself in calmly. “Did I mention Cressida has remote override access to every vehicle I own?”
The helicopter veered off course, away from the coast and inland toward the Sierra foothills.
“You’re not going to kill me,” he said, panicking now. “Amelia. Think of the baby!”
“Oh, I am,” she said. “And I’m thinking how I’ll explain to our child why their father vanished from the public eye just before a federal indictment.”
The Facility
The chopper descended onto a concrete pad in the middle of the forest. Guards in plain black uniforms emerged from a low, bunker-like building. Amelia disembarked slowly. She was calm, composed. Richard was dragged out, screaming.
“Where are we?! You can’t do this!”
Amelia didn’t answer. She simply watched as the guards escorted him inside.
Inside the facility, Richard was introduced to his new reality: a prison without walls, buried beneath Amelia’s private data lab, fully off-grid. Monitored by Cressida. No phone. No internet. Just a room, a bed, and a screen that flashed every one of his crimes in a continuous loop.
“You’ll never get away with this,” he snarled when Amelia visited hours later.
“I already have,” she replied. “You disappeared voluntarily, according to the signed documents you forged.” She held up the notarized form with his name. “Your fake death will be tragic. But it’ll also guarantee my company’s board doesn’t raise suspicions about the transfer of shares.”
He lunged at the glass between them. It didn’t budge.
“I was going to take everything,” he whispered.
She gave him a faint smile. “That’s the difference between us, Richard. I build things. You steal them.”
Then she turned and walked away.
Epilogue
Six months later, Amelia gave birth to a baby girl. Her name was Cressida Rose Lancaster.
In the public eye, Richard had tragically died in a helicopter crash off the California coast. His body was never recovered, but the wreckage suggested a tragic accident.
Amelia inherited full control of all joint assets. The sympathy boosted her company’s market value by 30%.
Only one person knew the truth.
And he screamed into soundproof walls every night, locked in a prison he had designed for someone else.