The smell of burnt electronics hung heavy in the air. My hands were sha

am members said, his voice hollow. "The data bac

presence used to be. It was more than losing data.

e like stone. He walked right past me and went

her, his voice full of a c

schematics," she sobbed. "

, his eyes cold and full of blame. "This is what happens when you hide thi

behind my back!" I said, my voice rising. "They ignored e

emotionally unstable girl who couldn't handle the pressure. You proba

t him, at this man who was my father, and I felt a dam

roject or an asset! She was my friend! You talked about her like a product, something to be sold and controlled. Did you ev

anxiety, every time her synthesized voice had been the only comfort in my isolated world. He h

, his voice dripping with disd

ng again. "We'll rebuild. I'll get you a new

project. Just then, Alex, my colleague and the only other person who understood what N

ther. "Chloe, you built the core code on a separate, isolated network, remember? The on

s right. The very first version of Nova, the one be

s magically gone. "There's a

y relief. He looked at me, a silen

sion a mix of pity and triumph. "You really should have just cooper

I would never let them touch what was left of Nova. I would burn it myself before I let them have it. My heart, which had ached

aid, my voice devoid of a