The Machinations Of Greed

Dear creation

That very same dark oak door opens another time, and through it enters Evelyn, her senses immediately assaulted by a few things. A delicious smell, a somewhat loud tune, and a pair of cheerful voices that await her.

"I'm home..."

She mutters to herself, not wanting to stir the two more, before strutting down the hallway. A smile etches itself onto her marble face as she watches her husband and daughter laugh together, happily cooking away. Adam is chopping some tomatoes, while Sarah crushes a few cloves of garlic.

"No, I'm telling you! Gnomes are better than unicorns! They've got cool hats!"

"Nuh-uh! Unicorns can fly, and they can run really fast!"

"So what?! Do they have cool hats?!"

"...They have a corn on their head!"

The clearly still don't know she's here as Adam turns his head to look at Sarah, giving her a dumbfounded look before bursting out laughing.

"...Hahaha... ha... oh, God..."

Their little banter is, admittedly, extremely comedic. Though, at the same time, she did promise she'd cook, so... she's kinda gotta be a little angry.

"...You meant 'horn', right?"

"Huh? 'Horn'? No, I meant, umm..."

"S-Sarah, it's 'horn', not 'corn'."

The two stop what they were doing, and Adam leans down, holding her gaze with a faint smile on his mask, barely holding back another burst of laughter.

"...Corn is a plant, Sarah. Horn is the thing that unicorns have on their heads. Ya get me?"

"...Mm... yeah..."

"Okay, well, then let's continu..."

Adam stands straight, before turning his gaze to scan around the house, only to finally find Evelyn staring them down intensely, arms folded and weight resting on one leg.

"Assistant. Stop playing."

The music resounding through their house immediately stops, and the atmosphere falls heavy with tension and promises of scoldings.

"...What did I say, hm?"

Both Sarah and Adam fall quiet, and the latter purses his lips, simply choosing to innocently stare back.

"Sit down, you two. You were making some bruschettas, right? I'll finish, you sit your butts down at the table, got it?"

"..."

Adam sighs, hanging his head before raising a finger in objection.

"No."

"Okay. It's over. C'mon, Sarah."

Adam nods shortly, completely shut down by Evelyn's tone. Head lowered, he immediately circles back around the countertop, followed closely by Sarah, who simply pouts cutely in disapproval.

"...Faster~"

Evelyn complains, furrowing her eyebrows. The two do as told, moving towards the living room with an increased pace. Sighing, Evelyn takes their place, picking up the knife to continue cutting the tomatoes.

.
.
.

Some time later, and she brings them a plate full of bruschettas, beautifully made and arranged in a nice pattern. The crisp, crusty bread, the bright red tomatoes, the olive oil that glistens on them and vinegar, the alluring smell of garlic, and finally the basil sprinkled on top.

It looks divine, but that's because the woman who made them is a perfectionist that loves bruschettas to death and back. They can't blame her for wanting them to be good.

"Eat up."

She gives them the go-ahead, gesturing smiling at the two as she sits opposite of them at the table. The two nod shortly yet again, almost like they're in front of a drill sergeant. Both steal a bruschetta, before taking a bite from their own.

"And since you're nice enough to cook for me, maybe you're nice enough to let me know why Sarah's still awake?"

Adam swallows hard, his throat bulging as the piece of adorned bread almost gets stuck in his throat. Sarah's gaze flickers from one to the other, innocently wondering why everything suddenly went silent.

"...Come on, Eve. I tried...

Adam turns his gaze to the left momentarily, avoiding her own as he swallows for the second time.

"...but she wouldn't go to sleep. And so, I couldn't just FORCE her to go sleep, could I?"

He looks back at her, no longer shying away.

"...Adam, you do know I can tell when you're lying, right? You know you have absolutely no self-control when it comes to making up lies, right?"

"..."

"...When you're down eating, take Sarah to sleep. Okay? And don't even think about sneaking out tomorrow to buy her sweets."

She takes a bruschetta herself, before standing up and walking towards the door. Taking a bite out of it, she turns back for a second, then points a finger at him.

"...Don't."

She chews the bruschetta, swallowing, before opening the door.

"...Love you~"

She adds, before finally stepping out and shutting the door behind her.

"...Alright, let's, uh... finish up here, and get some sleep, yeah, Sarah?"

Adam turns back to the little girl at his side, receiving a nod. A few minutes pass, and the two finish eating, deciding to leave some in the fridge for Evelyn if she wants more.

"Come on, you go to sleep, okay, Sarah? I'll go talk to Mommy."

"...Okay..."

Without any further denial, Sarah steps back into the room to the left of the entrance, while Adam opens the door, finding Evelyn leaning back against the apartment complex wall as she buttons away on her phone. She's smoking another cigarette, and though she's noticed him, she doesn't take her eyes off the screen.

"...What is it, Adam?"

"...Are you angry?"

He shuts the door behind himself, moving to lean back against the wall too.

"No. Not angry, at least. Just... that A-625 model that I sent Gabriel... there was something off about it."

"...Like what?"

"...A few days before it killed Gabriel, I sent her a list of three questions to ask an android. It was supposed to test if an android is a rebel or not, but... from what she told me, it more or less turned the android into a rebel. It started glitching."

"...So it malfunctioned because of some questions? The implications are... big, then."

"...Yep. Means there more than just faulty components to it. Even so, it shouldn't be possible. So, we did more tests with those questions. And... nothing."

"...Nothing? Really?"

"...Yeah, didn't produce any results. No abnormalities, no glowing red eyes, no refusal, no malfunctioning voice box. Nothing."