I looked at the security terminal, recognizing the system architecture.

It was the same system I had been trained on at the Virginia facility.

Raymond had built it, and he had coded a back door.

A back door that only I knew how to navigate.

“Father,” I said, my eyes fixed on the flickering screen.

“The auxiliary power grid.”

“Is the defense array still active?”

Raymond looked at me, a realization dawning in his eyes.

“Yes,” he said.

“But it’s dangerous.”

“So are they,” I said.

I reached out and shoved my father away from the keyboard, my fingers taking his place.

The keys felt familiar, my fingers moving without conscious thought.

A map of the house’s exterior layout appeared on the screen.

I entered the override sequence, my mind pulling the codes from the dark corners of my childhood.

On the screen, a series of defensive protocols flashed from yellow to red.

“Natalie,” Mara said, her eyes wide as she watched the monitors.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m turning the house against them,” I said.

Outside, the heavy rumble of engines grew louder.