It said *Restore Claire_Core_v4.2*.

Nathan leaned closer to me, pretending to adjust the cable beneath the desk.

“It’s her original framework,” he whispered, his face inches from mine.

“The one she wrote before Vanessa’s people infected the corporate network.”

“It has the complete log of every transaction Vanessa and Julian made.”

“It has the audio files from the nursery cameras.”

“Once this connects to the external satellite link, it bypasses the house jammer.”

“It goes straight to the federal server in Denver.”

My heart hammered against my ribs.

“Will it work?” I whispered.

“The signal has to pierce the storm,” he said.

“But if I can keep her talking, the bandwidth will stabilize.”

He stood up straight again and tapped the keyboard.

“Vanessa,” Nathan called out. “The primary decryption database is locked behind a biometric signature.”

“I have to bypass my own retinal scan to release the keys to your server.”

“It’s going to take ninety seconds to override.”

A heavy thud echoed from the corridor outside the vault door.

It sounded like a metal tank being dragged across the tiled floor.