“Locked how?” I asked.

“I built the encryption,” he said, his breath hitching. “I knew they would try to steal it. I knew Voss would kill me the moment he had the key.”

He closed his eyes for a second, grimacing in pain.

“Where is the key?” I asked.

“In Maryland,” he whispered. “At the old estate. In the basement laboratory.”

“What is the code?” I asked. “Tell me the password.”

He opened his eyes and looked directly into mine.

“I don’t have it,” he said.

“You just said you built the encryption,” I said, frustration creeping into my voice.

“I built it using your mind, Natalie,” he said.

I stared at him, my heart skipping a beat.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“The accident,” he said. “When you were twelve. Do you remember the summer we spent at the lake?”

“I remember the fever,” I said. “I remember being sick in the dark room.”

“It wasn’t a fever,” Raymond said, a tear escaping the corner of his eye. “We were testing the early neural mapping protocols. Your mother insisted on it.”