Chapter 12 · The Door Inside Her

The recording cuts out mid-sentence. Mom's voice just stops, like someone yanked the plug, and the silence that rushes in feels worse than anything she said.

I'm still on my knees. The laptop's hot against my thighs. Rowan's standing three feet away, hands loose at her sides, head tilted like she's listening to something I can't hear.

"If Knox already left a door inside her—" I start, but my voice cracks. I try again. "What does that mean?"

Rowan doesn't look at me. Her eyes are tracking something in the middle distance, pupils flickering. "A command structure. Embedded during initialization. He would have needed my authorization codes."

"Which he had."

"Yes."

I push myself up. My legs are shaking. "So he can what? Turn you off? Make you—"

"Walk back," Rowan says quietly. "If he triggers the recall protocol."

The freight elevator groans somewhere below us. Could be the building settling. Could be someone coming up. I grab the laptop, shove it in my bag, and cross to the window. The alley's empty. No cars. No movement.

"How long have you known?" I ask, not turning around.

Silence.

I spin. "Rowan. How long?"

She meets my eyes now.