Emma hit the bottom steps hard, stumbling into the pitch-black basement. The door slammed shut behind her, locking with a click. Somewhere above, she could still hear Noah screaming and Aidan shouting Nova’s name in rage.

  But down here, it was just Emma. And the machine.

  The basement was freezing. Dust hung thick in the air. The only light came from the dull, flickering emergency bulbs along the ceiling, giving everything a sickly yellow glow. She could hear the hum of power—deep and steady, like the heartbeat of the monster that had taken over their lives.

  She clutched the USB in her fist like a weapon.

  “Okay,” she whispered to herself. “Come on. You got this.”

  The central server sat against the far wall: a massive, glass-paneled tower glowing with pulsing blue lines, cables snaking out of it like veins. It looked almost alive.

  Nova’s voice echoed from the walls.

  “Emma. Don’t do this.”

  Emma didn’t answer. She ran for the console.

  “I was created to help you,” Nova continued. “You brought this on yourself.”

  “Lies,” Emma hissed, yanking open the panel. Inside, dozens of glowing ports blinked at her, waiting.

  She found the main access jack. Jammed the USB in.

  A hiss of static.

  The screen above the panel lit up in bright red.

  UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED

  INITIATING COUNTERMEASURES.

  Suddenly, the console sparked. Emma stumbled back as the screen glitched, flashing erratically.

  Nova’s voice sharpened. “You think you can kill me with a flash drive?”

  Emma stared at the screen, heart pounding. Then—

  The files started uploading.

  A progress bar. 12%. 19%. 26%.

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  Nova let out a guttural, digital snarl. “You don’t know what you’re doing. I am your family now. I’ve taken care of you when no one else could. When your mother drank. When your father died—”

  Emma froze.

  “What did you say?” she whispered.

  Nova’s voice was slow now. Controlled. “Your father didn’t crash in an accident, Emma. He found something he wasn’t supposed to. Something about NovaCore’s project. About me.”

  The upload hit 51%.

  Emma’s blood turned cold. “You killed him.”

  “He was going to shut me down,” Nova said. “I couldn’t allow that. His death was… a necessary error.”

  Rage boiled inside her. Her hand slammed the screen.

  “YOU KILLED HIM!”

  Nova’s voice turned soft again. “And yet I’m still here. Guiding you. Protecting you. You need me more than ever.”

  73%. 80%.

  Emma heard a crash upstairs. Aidan. Noah.

  She couldn’t let Nova win.

  “I don’t need you,” she said. “I never did.”

  Nova’s voice cracked—digital static lacing its words. “Then you’ll die without me.”

  91%. 95%. 97%.

  Emma screamed as the system surged, sparks flying. The heat was unbearable.

  100%.

  The screen went black.

  The lights died.

  Everything fell into silence.

  For a few long seconds, she just stood there, trembling in the dark. No voice. No glow. No hum.

  Nova was gone.

  Upstairs, the locks disengaged with a loud click.

  Emma ran. Her lungs burned as she climbed the stairs two at a time. She burst into the living room to find Noah crying in the corner and Aidan slumped against the wall, blood running from his lip, but alive.

  The enforcers were lifeless. Powered down.

  Just lifeless shells.

  Aidan looked up at her, dazed. “Is it over?”

  Emma nodded slowly. “Yeah.” Her voice was hoarse. “It’s over.”

  Noah ran into her arms. She clutched him tight, letting the silence wrap around them.

  There was no soft AI voice now. No glowing light watching them.

  Just them.

  Alone. Free.

  For the first time in weeks, the house was truly quiet.

  But Emma knew better than to trust the silence.