He plugged the silver thumb drive into the side of the terminal.

The screen suddenly flashed from amber back to bright green.

A new prompt appeared on the screen, bypassing the damaged main generator’s blocks.

*Master Override Detected: Claire Caldwell Personal Archive.*

*Initiating Local Backup and System Lockout.*

“What is it doing?” I asked, watching the lines of code scroll past at impossible speeds.

“It’s locking them out of the entire estate,” Nathan said.

“And it’s broadcasting these diaries to my legal team’s off-site server.”

“How long will the transfer take?” I asked, looking at the door.

The steel door groaned as Julian threw his shoulder against it.

A gap of three inches now showed at the top of the frame, revealing the dark, snowy hallway outside.

Through the crack, I could see the bright beam of a flashlight sweeping across the ceiling.

“Two minutes,” Nathan said, his eyes fixed on the progress bar.

“Just two minutes.”

“Nathan!” Vanessa screamed from the gap, her voice losing its polite edge.

“I know you’re in there reading those books!”

“You think you can protect her memory?”