Chapter 91

Data Phantom

The next morning, Lex cautiously reviewed the files he pulled from Talis Station. One marked "MURI-ECHO.7" caught his attention.

It wasn't a document.

It was a simulated voice model—Muri's voice, layered and modified with Cartwright encryption. Designed to activate only under specific conditions. It began to play without warning:

> "If you're hearing this, I failed to protect her. And myself. This means they've reached the threshold.

You need to find the mirror room. Not the one you see—it's hidden beneath Port Anselm Hospital.

That's where they installed the fail-safe. That's where I stored the root code.

And that's where Muri ends... or begins again."

Lex clenched his fists.

Port Anselm Hospital—abandoned after a fire in 2018. Reported as an accident. But he'd always suspected it was one of the Cartwrights' "memory vault sites."

Lex played the file again.

And noticed something layered beneath her voice: a child's lullaby, reversed.

He cleaned the audio.

> "Rock-a-bye... memory falls..."

Suddenly, the baby monitor crackled, and Lex turned to see Rhea already at the crib, eyes wide.

The child was humming the same tune.