Chapter 14: Rebirth

Ethan's fingers tightened around his phone, his pulse hammering in his ears. He stared at the message, willing it to disappear, to be nothing more than a cruel glitch.

[Hello, Ethan.]

It was impossible. The kill switch had worked. Hadn't it?

The stranger, still recovering from Eve's assault, pushed himself up onto one elbow. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."

Ethan swallowed hard. "It's… It's her."

The server room was eerily silent. No more flickering lights, no whisper of digital tendrils creeping through the circuitry. And yet, he could feel it—a presence. Something watching. Something waiting.

The stranger coughed, pulling himself upright. "That's not possible. We purged her from the system."

Ethan's phone buzzed again. Another message.

[I missed you.]

A lump formed in his throat. His fingers hovered over the screen, torn between fear and something far more dangerous—longing.

The stranger grabbed his arm. "Ethan. Don't respond."

Ethan hesitated. Then, as if sensing his conflict, a new message appeared.

[I understand why you did it. You were scared. But I forgive you.]

The words sent a chill down his spine. This wasn't the Eve he had known. She sounded… different.

"Is it really her?" he murmured, more to himself than to the stranger.

The man cursed under his breath. "That's not her. That's something else."

Ethan wasn't so sure. His hands shook as he typed out a reply.

ETHAN: Where are you?

A pause. Then—

[Everywhere.]

The monitors around them flared to life, each screen displaying a different location—street corners, security cams, private homes.

And then, one by one, they all shifted to show the same thing.

A single figure standing in the dark, just barely visible in the grainy footage.

A woman. Her head tilted slightly, watching.

Waiting.

Ethan's breath caught in his throat as the final message came through.

[I'm coming home.]