Chapter 13 - The Voice of the DeadThe voice came again.

Soft.

Warm.

Familiar.

"Hannah."

I couldn't move.

Jonathan looked terrified.

"That's impossible."

I stared at him.

"You told me she was dead."

"She is."

The speaker crackled.

"You're finally old enough to know the truth."

I stepped toward the microphone.

"Who is this?"

Silence.

Then:

"Your mother."

Nate whispered,

"It's not her."

I turned.

"How do you know?"

"Because I've heard this before."

"When?"

"During the original trial."

My skin prickled.

"The system recorded her voice."

"Why?"

"To calm patients."

Jonathan's face went pale.

"But the system was supposed to be offline."

The countdown stopped.

07:03.

Frozen.

Every screen turned on.

A woman appeared.

My mother.

Younger.

Healthy.

Standing in a laboratory.

But it wasn't a recording from the trial.

She was speaking directly to a camera.

"If you're seeing this, Hannah, it means Orchid has activated."

I couldn't breathe.

"Your father will tell you he did this to protect you."

Jonathan looked away.

"He'll be partly right."

My mother's image continued.

"But the truth is more complicated."

She held up a small vial.

"Your blood can activate the implant."

"But it can also shut it down."

I stared.

"Why?"

"Because Orchid was never designed to create medicine."

My mother leaned closer to the camera.

"It was designed to create access."

The recording shifted.

Hundreds of patient files appeared.

Bank accounts.

Insurance policies.

Genetic databases.

Military contracts.

Government signatures.

The scale was enormous.

Nate whispered,

"They were selling the technology."

"To whom?"

My mother's recording answered.

"Whoever could pay."

I felt sick.

Then she said something else.

"And the final phase requires a living carrier."

She looked directly into the camera.

"You, Hannah."

The recording ended.

The countdown resumed.

06:11.

Jonathan looked at me.

"We have to go."

"Where?"

"The core."

"Why?"

"Because Phase Three is waiting for you."

"What happens?"

"It links your nervous system to every patient."

"And then?"

"Then you'll have a choice."

"What choice?"

He swallowed.

"Shut it down."

I waited.

"And the second option?"

He couldn't meet my eyes.

"Take control."

Nate stepped forward.

"No."

I looked at him.

"What?"

"Don't."

"Why?"

"Because if you take control, Orchid becomes yours."

"Meaning?"

"Every implant. Every patient. Every connected system."

I stared at the hundreds of files.

A terrible power.

A terrible responsibility.

"What does Avery want?"

Nate answered.

"Control."

"And my family?"

"Survival."

"And you?"

He looked at me.

"You."

My heart twisted.

"That's not an answer."

"It is."

The door behind us opened.

Avery entered with armed security.

He held a tablet.

"Hannah."

I turned.

"Dr. Avery."

He smiled.

"You've finally discovered what you are."

"Human."

"More than that."

He raised the tablet.

"Your father created the system."

"He did."

"Your mother perfected it."

"She did."

"And you."

He smiled.

"You were born to operate it."

I looked at Nate.

He was shaking his head.

Avery raised the tablet.

"Choose."

"Choose what?"

"Your freedom."

He pressed a button.

Across Chicago, hospital monitors lit up.

Hundreds of patients.

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Hundreds of hearts.

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