CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
The cryo chamber door finished opening with a soft hiss.
Victoria stepped out fully, silver hair cascading like moonlight, her younger body moving with the same graceful command she had wielded decades ago.
No frailty, no hesitation. She looked exactly like the echo wearing Lila’s face, yet her eyes held a sharper, ancient hunger that made the tunnel feel smaller.
Elena could not breathe. The toxin fog burned her lungs, but the sight before her burned deeper. The mother they had buried in ash and memory had never left.
She had waited, watched, and now walked free while the father knelt in silent submission on the upper feed.
Victoria’s voice carried through every speaker, calm and intimate. “My daughters. The circle you built was always a beautiful illusion.
