Chapter 98

Muri Awakens

When the dust settled, Lex approached her cautiously.

Rhea—no, Muri—stood at the shattered front door, breathing slowly, as if the weight of three years had just returned all at once.

"Are you still... you?" Lex asked.

She turned to him. "I don't know. But I know what has to be done now."

Lex glanced toward the road. The others were gone. Safe.

Muri handed him a sealed data drive.

> "This holds the shutoff protocol. Not just for the chip. For all of them."

> "All of what?"

She looked at him.

> "The children. There are more. I wasn't the only carrier. Eden wasn't a project... it was a program."

And now it was active again.