A Second Chance at Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)

Chapter 1405

Slim fingers danced across the keyboard, tapping out a rhythm as rapid as the heartbeat of a hummingbird. The screen before Cedric flickered with lines of code, each barrier crumbling under his deft touch. But when he reached the core of the program, his pulse stalled. The chip’s software split like a cell, doubling its defenses. His gaze shot up to Bernard, who sat with the serenity of a monk in deep meditation.

“Bernard, I’ve heard whispers about this tech on the dark web,” Cedric said, his voice tinged with disbelief. “They say it’s meant to monitor and control, like something out of a dystopian sci-fi. How did you come across it?”

Bernard’s eyes, cool and detached, shifted to meet Cedric’s troubled stare.

“It’s in my head,” he replied, his tone as casual as if discussing the weather.

A chill raced through Cedric, a serpentine cold wrapping around his ankles and slithering up his spine. “B-Bernard, that’s like a doomsday device. How on earth did it end up inside your head?”

While Cedric’s face was a canvas of shock, Bernard remained as composed as ever, his acceptance of the situation bordering on the unnerving.

shut this thing down,” Bernard said, his voice devoid of self-pity, always brushing off

head. Though invisible to the eye, Cedric knew too well the agony his brother must have endured for that chip to

a silent lament for the suffering endured. “Does

in this moment, he allowed

the surveillance, GPS, and the self-destruct mechanisms in this thing. Only then can we take Siren back to Area Opaca

a few words, Cedric grasped the gravity of what Bernard had faced in Area Opaca. Without another word, he dove back into the code, his mind racing with

Bernard’s efforts, sent a countdown signal as a warning. But Bernard, knowing all too well that Yates wouldn’t play his hand so

Bernard made him swear to secrecy about the chip before they headed to the technological hub. Cedric fired up

and monitoring functions, but as soon as he did, new code cascaded across the screen. They were not

functions. I can buy us time by delaying the reactivation of the monitoring and GPS, but the self-destruct… I can’t even simulate the code. It’s nearly impossible, unless…”