Chapter 2 - The Missing LinkGrace was huddled in the pediatric waiting room, her small frame curled into a ball on the plastic chairs. Caleb found her there moments later, his heart breaking for the child who had watched her mother lose her identity in a single night.
"Grace?" he whispered.
She looked up, her eyes dull. "They’re taking her, aren't they?"
"Not if I can help it," Caleb said, dropping to his knees. "Grace, I need you to listen to me. Your mother... she wasn't just driving. Do you remember where you were before you came to the hospital?"
Grace shook her head. "We were at the glass house. The one with the tall fences. Mom was crying. She told me to get in the car and not to say a word to anyone—not even Grandma, not even Grandpa. She said they were trying to change her."
"Change her?"
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"With the silver things," Grace whispered, pulling up the hem of her sleeve to reveal a faint, circular scar on her own arm. "She told me I had to be strong, or they’d put them in me, too."
Caleb’s throat tightened. The cardiac devices. Ashford Medical wasn't just failing to report malfunctions; they were using their own family members as test subjects for experimental, unchecked neuro-link technology. Vivian hadn't been in an accident; she had been fleeing an upgrade.
