The Shatter Trigger
"Lex…" she whispered.
He turned instantly, alarmed.
She stood in the doorway, pale, shaking. Her hands trembled as she pointed to the back of her head.
"They put it in me. The chip. Three years ago. That's where I was. That's why I disappeared."
Lex stepped closer, heart pounding. "What did they do to you?"
She was crying now—not from pain, but from rage. "They stored something in me. Something living. Data with memory. I volunteered... I was the vault before I became Rhea."
Lex stared at her, stunned.
"And now?" he asked.
Rhea looked down at her daughter, sleeping peacefully.
"It's no longer in me," she whispered. "The chip shut down when I gave birth. It passed the data on."
Lex's breath caught.
"You're saying—"
"She's not just our daughter," Rhea said. "She is the last piece of Eden."