Chapter 82

Sid's Warning

Siddharth arrived within the hour, damp from the rain, his expression unreadable. He took the letter, read it once, then again, and finally sighed, setting it down on the kitchen counter.

"I was hoping they'd stay buried longer," he murmured. "But I'm not surprised."

Rhea stood by the kettle, hand trembling just slightly. "What do they want from us now? From me? I'm not part of them anymore."

Sid looked at Lex. "You never told her the full story, did you?"

Lex froze. "She didn't need to know. Not then."

"What story?" Rhea's voice sharpened.

Siddharth leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Lex didn't just stumble into this with you. Years ago, before you ever crossed paths, he and I were investigating a whistleblower linked to the Cartwright Group. A woman who went by the code name—Muri."

Rhea's breath hitched.

"That name," Siddharth continued, "was never random. It was a created identity. Someone built it. Protected it. Funded it. The Cartwrights weren't just hunting you. They were watching what you'd become."

Lex's voice was quiet. "I found you by accident, Rhea. But I stayed because I saw who you really were."

"And who am I?" she asked, shaken.

Siddharth answered instead. "Someone they believe still has the key to a data vault they lost during the Eden Fall incident."

"I don't know anything about that," she said.

"Maybe not consciously," Sid replied. "But you knew something once. And now… they want it back."