He Dies When I Fall Asleep

I was born without the ability to sleep.

For nineteen years, my brain has not shut down for a single second. My neural pathways simply do not possess a sleep mode.

When I was sixteen, the Lockwell family took me out of the state foster care system and moved me into a fully sealed, high-security medical wing on the penthouse floor of the Lockwell Medical Center.

They did it because Adrian Lockwells brainstem had been crushed in a devastating car accident. The cutting-edge neural AI keeping his consciousness tethered to reality required a constant, uninterrupted human brainwave to act as its real-time anchor.

If I woke, he lived.

If I slept, he died.

A year ago, a nurse accidentally mixed a trace amount of a sedative into my daily nutrient IV. My consciousness drifted for exactly three seconds. Seven floors down, in the middle of a board meeting, Adrian collapsed. His heart rate flatlined instantly.

By the next morning, the nurses license was permanently revoked, and the pharmaceutical supplier was blacklisted from the industry.

After that, the air composition in my room was monitored second by second. Even hand creams containing lavender oil were added to the strict contraband list.

Everything changed when Adrian flew to the Middle East for a summit, leaving his fiance, Virginia Carl, in charge of the facility under a temporary power of attorney.

She scoffed as she flipped through my monthly eight-figure medical invoices. "Is this what the Lockwells are paying for?" she sneered, looking at me. "A useless, staring burden?"

She dismissed the night nursing staff, ripped out the neural transmission cables, and dragged me out of my temperature-controlled pod. Then, she pried my jaw open and forced a whole blister pack of sleeping pills down my throat.

"You don't need sleep, right? Let's put that to the test."

I collapsed to my knees, clawing at my throat, but at least three of the pills had already dissolved in my stomach.

For the first time in nineteen years, my eyelids grew incredibly heavy.

The neural anchor system flashed a violent, crimson warning on the monitors. Virginia reached over and casually flipped the master switch to off.

She had no idea. Seven time zones away, Adrian's consciousness was fading into the dark right along with mine.

"Miss Carl!"

Simon Marvin, the lead engineer on duty, burst into the room.

He stared at the disconnected cables on the floor, then at me kneeling on the ground. The color drained from his face instantly.

"Who authorized you to unplug those cables?"

Virginias expression darkened. "Do you know who youre talking to?"

Simon ignored her, dropping to his knees beside me and reaching for the transmission line.

"Julie, don't close your eyes! Do you hear me? Look at me, keep them open!"

I tried. I desperately tried to focus on his face, but my eyelids felt as heavy as lead.

Virginia stepped forward, her designer heel pinning the cable to the floor. "Did I say you could plug her back in?"

Simon snapped his head up. "Miss Carl, stop playing games! That isn't a standard monitoring line. That is Mr. Lockwell's neural anchor channel."

"If Julie slips into a deep sleep, Mr. Lockwell's neural AI will completely lose its connection."

"If it goes on too long, his consciousness will drift away entirely. He will be gone."

Virginia looked entirely indifferent, her expression dripping with disbelief. "So?"

She bent down, picked up the cable, and wound it lazily around her finger. "The great Adrian Lockwell's life depends on whether this girl keeps her eyes open? Please."

Simon grit his teeth. "Yes. It does."

The cold amusement on Virginia's face sharpened into something ugly. "Then the Lockwells really are keeping a goddess up here, aren't they?"

She turned her gaze back to me.

"Julie, tell me, how did you pull this off? A nameless orphan from a state home, living in the most exclusive penthouse wing, using their most expensive equipment, with an entire neuro-engineering team catering to your every whim."

"And now, Adrian's life belongs to you too?"

I wanted to explain. I wanted to tell her the truth, but my throat was thick with the bitter, chalky taste of the pills and a metallic tang of blood.

The sedatives were taking hold.

My brainwaves were plummeting.

I could feel it because the physical implant embedded behind my left ear was beginning to burn. It was a direct connection between my mind and Adrian's.

Right now, seven time zones away in a Riyadh conference hall, Adrian had to be feeling the exact same fire.

Simons eyes were bloodshot with panic. "Miss Carl, you can check the security logs, or you can wait until Old Mr. Lockwell gets back. But right now, we have to reconnect this line. Every minute we delay puts Mr. Lockwell in mortal danger."

For a fraction of a second, Virginias composure wavered.

But then, her phone rang.

The screen illuminated with an encrypted call. The caller ID read:

Riyadh Medical Escort Team

Simon looked at the screen like a drowning man catching sight of a life raft. "Answer it! Answer it now! It has to be Adrian's team!"

Virginia stared at the flashing screen for two seconds.

Then, right in front of us, she swiped to decline the call.

Simon froze. I felt the last of my hope wither.

Virginia turned the phone face-down on the table. "Adrian gave me temporary management of this facility before he left because he trusted me. While he is away, what I say goes."

She looked at the security guards standing by the doorway. "Please escort Mr. Marvin out."

Simons voice cracked with rage. "Virginia Carl, you are going to regret this!"

Virginia let out a soft, mocking laugh. "The only thing I regret is not finding out sooner that the Lockwell family was hiding a piece of property like this."

Property.

She spoke about me as if I were a piece of hardware.

The guards stepped forward, dragging Simon toward the exit. He struggled so violently that the veins in his neck bulged.

"Julie! Don't sleep!"

"Do you hear me? Fight it! Mr. Lockwell has always protected you!"

The heavy door slammed shut, cutting off his voice.

The silence of the room settled around us, leaving only Virginia, me, and the dirty, discarded cable on the floor.

I summoned the absolute last of my physical strength and began to crawl forward. Just as my fingertips brushed the metal connector, Virginia stepped down hard on my hand.

I felt the delicate bones in my fingers click under the pressure. A sharp gasp of pain escaped my lips.

"Still acting?"

She crouched down, tapping my cheek with a manicured finger. "I thought you were born without the ability to sleep."

"So prove it to me."

I stared up at her, my vision blurring into a haze of shapes and shadows.

"Ad... Adrian..."

Virginias eyes flashed with venom. "You think you have the right to speak his name?"

She grabbed my hair, pulling my face upward to force me to look at her. "Listen to me, Julie. Adrian Lockwell is my fianc. You are nothing but a human machine paid for by his family."

"And machines need to remember their place."

I wanted to speak. I wanted to defend myself, but a sudden, deafening screech of static erupted inside my head.

It wasn't an alarm in the room. It was Adrians neural AI, transmitting through our failing interface, echoing in the quietest chambers of my mind.

It was faint, breaking apart.

[Julie...]

[Don't... sleep...]

Tears spilled over my eyelashes.

Adrian was still awake. He was still fighting to find me.

With the absolute last ounce of my strength, I reached out and clutched the hem of Virginias sleeve.

"Plug it... back in..."

"Please..."

Virginia sneered, wrenching her arm away from my grasp. "You're begging me?"

She stood up, looking down at me with utter contempt. "Then stay on your knees."

"Once I'm satisfied, maybe I'll consider letting you continue this little charade."

My body gave out completely. My forehead hit the cold floor.

My consciousness felt as though it were being dragged down into a deep, fathomless body of water. For nineteen years, I had never known what sleep felt like. I had always assumed it was a gentle thing.

But this wasn't gentle. It felt like death, slowly extinguishing the light.

In my final second of awareness, I heard the rooms backup system automatically rebooting. A stark red light flooded the ceiling.

[Anchor brainwave dropped below safety threshold.]

[Target consciousness drift: 37%...]

[Target consciousness drift: 61%...]

[Target consciousness drift: 89%...]

Virginias brow finally furrowed. "What is that noise?"

No one answered her.

Seven time zones away, at the Riyadh summit.

Adrian Lockwell sat in his wheelchair, speaking through his neural AI to close a major acquisition with a foreign conglomerate.

One second, he was calmly turning the final page of the contract.

The next, his pupils dilated and lost focus.

The mechanical exoskeleton supporting his frame lost its feed, collapsing under him as he crashed to the floor.

The room erupted into chaos.

His private medical team rushed forward, their faces turning pale as they looked at the portable monitors. Adrians heart was still beating, but the golden wave representing his consciousness was flattening into a straight line.

The lead doctor, hands trembling, dialed Virginias number.

The first call was declined.

The second went straight to voicemail.

The third time, the phone was turned off.

Back in the penthouse suite of the medical center, Virginia looked at the flashing red alerts, her patience entirely gone.

"Turn off these ridiculous alarms," she ordered.

She turned on her heel and walked toward the door. "First thing tomorrow morning, I want a full audit of Julie's medical expenses over the last three years."

"The Lockwells are not a charity."

"And we certainly aren't going to keep spending millions on a liar who pretends to die the moment she closes her eyes."

She did not know.

The moment the heavy door clicked shut behind her, the very last trace of Adrians consciousness went dark.

I didn't fully fall asleep.

Rather, because my brain had never learned how to sleep, the heavy dose of sedatives could only trap me in a horrific, twilight state of near-death.

I couldn't hear distinct sounds. I only heard the fragmented, synthetic voice of the machine.

[Anchor brainwaves continuing to deteriorate.]

[Target consciousness reconnection: Failed.]

[Please restore primary anchor channel immediately.]

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they were made of stone. The bitter taste of the pills lingered in my throat, and dry heaves racked my stomach in painful spasms.

I had no concept of how much time had passed.

Suddenly, someone slapped my cheek hard.

"Julie."

"Wake up."

"Stop playing dead."

Virginias voice drifted in from a great distance, completely devoid of warmth.

I forced my eyes open. The overhead lights were blindingly bright, sending a sharp pain through my temples.

Virginia stood over the bed, flanked by two guards and a young resident doctor she had pulled from the lower floors.

The doctor looked at my vitals, his expression deeply concerned. "Miss Carl, her pupillary response is incredibly weak, and her blood pressure is dropping fast. We need to pump her stomach immediately."

Virginia frowned. "I called you up here to prove she is faking, not to listen to your exaggerations."

"But she has clearly ingested an overdose of heavy sedatives," the doctor protested.

"An overdose?" Virginia laughed coldly. "I thought she was born unable to sleep. If she can't sleep, how can a few sleeping pills be considered an overdose?"

The doctor went quiet, unsure of how to argue.

I parted my dry lips, my voice barely a whisper. "The... cable..."

Virginia looked down at me. "Still thinking about that wire?"

I used every bit of energy I had left to glance toward the corner of the room. The neural transmission cable was still lying there on the floor.

If they just plugged it back in.

If they just reconnected it.

Maybe Adrian still had a chance.

I tried to push myself up on my elbows, but my limbs felt like water. The moment I moved, a white-hot, tearing pain flared at the base of my neck where the interface was implanted.

"Don't move!" The doctor instinctively stepped forward to hold me steady. "Her neural interface is overheating. If we don't stabilize her, she will suffer permanent, irreversible brain damage."

"Irreversible?"

Virginia looked almost amused.

She walked closer to the bed, leaning in to look at me. "Julie, haven't you been using this little plug behind your ear to drain the Lockwell family fortune for years?"

"Let's see if you can keep up the act without it."

My breath caught in my throat. "No... please..."

From outside the heavy suite doors, a sudden, violent banging echoed through the room.

"Miss Carl! Open the door!"

It was Simon. His voice sounded hoarse, raw with panic.

"We've lost all contact with Mr. Lockwell! The Riyadh medical team has sent twelve consecutive red-level emergency alerts!"

"We need to reconnect Julie right now!"

Virginias face went cold. She turned to the guards. "Why is he still on the penthouse floor?"

"Mr. Marvin's security clearance is too high," the guard murmured. "The lower floor security gates couldn't stop him."

Virginia let out a cold laugh. "Then terminate his access."

She picked up the temporary administrative terminal from the table and pressed the authorization key.

The pounding outside stopped instantly.

A heavy silence fell, followed by Simons voice, which had gone completely hollow. "Virginia Carl... did you just lock out the neuro-engineering team?"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Virginia walked over to the door, speaking through the security intercom. "It means that from this moment on, the penthouse wing is no longer a playground where you run up invoices in Adrians name."

"Miss Carl!" Simon screamed. "You are going to kill him!"

"Enough!"

Virginias voice cracked like a whip.

"You all keep screaming about how he's going to die, how she can't sleep. But Adrian Lockwell is my fianc!"

"If his life were actually in danger, why has he never told me about her?"

There was a long, terrible silence on the other side of the door.

Then, Simon spoke, his voice trembling. "Because Mr. Lockwell didn't want you to know about Julie's existence."

Virginias face went entirely white. She gripped the terminal, her knuckles turning translucent. "What did you say?"

Simon had clearly decided he had nothing left to lose. "Adrian signed a top-level non-disclosure agreement. Only seven people in the world know Julie's actual purpose. You are not on that list."

"Miss Carl, whether you want to accept it or notin Adrian's life-support network, Julie is far more important than you will ever be."

The words were a direct hit to the center of Virginia's pride.

The thin veneer of elegance she always wore began to crack, piece by piece. "More important than me?"

She slowly turned around to look at me lying on the bed.

In that moment, a cold dread settled deep in my stomach. She hadn't been reasoned with. She had been pushed over the edge.

She walked over to my bedside, her eyes entirely devoid of warmth.

"Julie."

"Did you hear that?"

"They think you are more important than me."

I tried to shake my head, but my muscles refused to cooperate.

Virginia reached down, her fingers digging violently into my jawline. "You? A nameless orphan nobody wanted? On what grounds?"

She forced my head back, making me look directly into her eyes. "Because of this pretty face?"

"Or because of the machine parts they shoved inside your head?"

My eyes widened in terror.

Virginia saw my reaction, and a slow, cruel smile spread across her face. "So there really is something in there."

The doctors face drained of color. "Miss Carl, we cannot touch the neural interface. Especially not now while she is sedated. Any forced manipulation could cause massive neurological trauma."

"An examination?"

Virginia released her grip on my face, her voice dropping to a terrifyingly calm whisper. "No."

"I am calling an internal hearing."

"Tomorrow morning at nine, I want every senior executive and board member of the Lockwell Medical Center in the main conference hall."

"I want everyone to see exactly what kind of monster this family has been keeping in the attic."

The doctor took a step forward. "But she needs medical intervention right now!"

Virginia cast a chilling look at him. "Is she dead?"

The doctor stopped. "No, but"

"Then she can wait until tomorrow."

With that, she turned and walked out.

As the heavy doors locked shut, my world drifted back into the cold dark. But this time, deep in the silence, I heard a faint, distant whisper.

It sounded as if someone were calling my name from across an ocean.

[Julie.]

[Hold on.]

A single tear slid down my cheek.

Adrian. You are still there.

So I cannot sleep.

The next morning at nine, I was wheeled into the seventh-floor executive conference room.

I wasn't allowed to sit up. Instead, I was strapped down to a mobile examination bed, completely restrained.

The room was filled with people.

The medical administration, the financial directors, the legal counsels, and several senior board members of the Lockwell Corporation I had never seen before.

The way they looked at me was a mixture of clinical curiosity, disgust, and mild fear.

Virginia stood at the head of the long mahogany table, a massive projection of my medical billing history illuminated behind her.

The numbers were staggering.

The maintenance of the temperature-controlled pod.

The specialized replacement parts for the neural interface.

The operations cost of the real-time synchronization servers.

The twenty-four-hour nursing rotation.

The constant filtration and monitoring of the air quality.

Each line item cost more than an average family would see in a lifetime.

Virginia tapped the screen with a red laser pointer. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what Julie has cost the Lockwell family over the last three years."

"An average of eight figures every single month."

"And the invaluable service she provides in return? Laying in a penthouse pod, staring at the wall with her eyes open."

A quiet murmur rippled through the boardroom.

"How is it even possible for a human to never sleep?"

"I always thought the penthouse project was incredibly suspicious."

"With Adrian incapacitated, those expenses were never properly audited."

"Could this be a massive embezzlement scheme?"

Listening to their whispers, my chest tightened. They didn't know the truth. And none of them had the clearance to access it.

Virginia had calculated this perfectly.

She was going to use their ignorance to destroy me.

One of the senior board members cleared his throat. "Miss Carl, while Adrian did grant you temporary power of attorney, the penthouse wing has always been under the personal oversight of Old Mr. Lockwell. Is a public hearing like this entirely appropriate?"

Virginia smiled warmly. "It is precisely because Mr. Lockwell is getting older that he is more vulnerable to being deceived."

"As Adrians fiance, it is my duty to protect this family from predators."

She turned her gaze directly onto me.

"Julie, I will give you one chance."

"Admit to everyone in this room that you and the neuro-engineering team fabricated your condition, falsified the brainwave data, and systematically drained the Lockwell family's resources."

My throat was so dry it felt like paper. "I didn't..."

My voice was too quiet, swallowed up by the low chatter of the room.

Virginia walked over and tossed a thick document onto my chest. "Sign it."

I looked down at the cover page.

Confession of Medical Fraud and Misappropriation.

Everything had already been laid out for me.

Falsification of rare medical records.

Conspiracy with the engineering staff to embezzle medical funds.

Using a fabricated neurological condition to occupy Lockwell properties.

Consent to the immediate removal of all neural implants and cooperation with the subsequent criminal investigation.

My fingers trembled against the straps. "You can't take it out..."

Virginia leaned over the bed. "And why is that?"

I used every ounce of breath I had left. "He will die."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Then, someone near the back let out a sharp chuckle.

"She actually believes she controls the president's life."

"This isn't just fraud anymore. It's severe delusion."

Virginia smiled, pleased with the reaction. This was exactly what she wanted.

By pushing me to state the truth, she made me sound completely insane.

Suddenly, the double doors of the conference room were shoved open.

Simon was struggling against two security guards at the threshold, holding a portable neural diagnostics terminal. Sweat was pouring down his face.

"Virginia, let me in!"

"Adrians consciousness cloud fractured three times last night!"

"The main servers can't locate his signal! The Riyadh team has initiated maximum-level resuscitation protocols!"

The room erupted into quiet panic.

Virginias face went cold. "Who let him up here?"

Simon stared at her with raw fury. "I am going to say this one last time: Julie is not a fraud."

"She is the sole anchor keeping Adrian's neural AI online."

"When you drugged her last night, you essentially signed his death warrant."

The word murder seemed to echo in the high ceilings.

Virginia merely smiled. "Mr. Marvin, do you understand the gravity of what you are claiming?"

"I do," Simon said, his voice shaking. "And I am prepared to take full legal responsibility for every single word."

Virginia nodded slowly. "Excellent."

She turned to the corporate legal counsel. "Take that down. Simon Marvin, an employee of the neuro-engineering division, is attempting to cover up a massive medical fraud by using threats against Adrian's life."

Simon's face went pale. "You are completely out of your mind!"

Virginia ignored him. She walked back to the center of the room, her eyes sweeping over the board members.

"Since there is so much debate, we will proceed with the most direct verification method."

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Virginia spoke clearly. "Julie has a neural implant at the base of her neck."

"Mr. Marvin claims that chip is Adrian's lifeline."

"Personally, I find it hard to believe that a tiny piece of metal in an orphan's head dictates the survival of the Lockwell empire."

She looked at the medical team standing near the door. "Prepare to extract the implant."

The room went dead silent.

The resident doctor she had brought up looked terrified. "Miss Carl, this violates every medical protocol. She was heavily sedated last night, and her neural activity is highly erratic. Any invasive procedure right now could be fatal."

Virginia looked at him coldly. "Are you a licensed physician, or are you her accomplice?"

The doctor looked down, unable to answer.

Virginia raised her administrative terminal. "I hold the temporary executive power of attorney. Anyone who refuses to carry out my orders will be terminated immediately."

A cold sweat broke out across my skin.

I wasn't afraid of the pain.

I was terrified because I knew that if that chip was forcibly removed, Adrian might never find his way back.

I began to thrash against the leather straps, tears streaming down my face. "Don't... please..."

Virginia walked up to the side of my bed, looking down at me with a soft, venomous smile. "Now you're begging?"

Her finger brushed against the cool sterile patch on the back of my neck. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I thought you couldn't sleep, Julie."

"Once we take this out, I'm going to let you sleep for a very long time."