Chapter 147: The Mirror Backup

Claire brought the surviving Mirror backup to an independent digital-forensics laboratory rather than sending it directly. Freya appreciated the caution.

The backup came from a university test node recovered from old storage after the Crosswind project shut down.

Most data was corrupted.

One intact package contained Gentle Devotion.

The file history confirmed Claire's account. She uploaded the novel, edited the epilogue, and later issued a deletion request.

But the node did something unexpected before deletion.

It created an external synchronization package.

The destination field contained no recognizable internet address.

Mercer examined it under supervision and admitted he had never seen the protocol.

The identifier looked like a malformed node key rather than a normal server destination.

Freya asked whether that could explain her old world's copy.

No one could say.

Claire looked frustrated. "I wanted to give you an answer."

"You gave me evidence," Freya said. "That's better."

The synchronization package included reader-interaction data that did not belong to Claire's original upload.

Thousands of comments.

Freya's heart pounded.

Some usernames looked familiar.

She remembered seeing them beneath the novel in her previous life.

The comments were timestamped across months even though Claire's book had existed on Mirror for less than a week.

Technically, the metadata made no sense.

The laboratory ruled out simple file corruption because the comment database was internally consistent.

Freya read several entries.

Readers argued about Louis.

They praised Serena.

They insulted the original Freya.

One comment made Freya laugh despite everything: If this woman had one brain cell, she'd sell those bags and start over.

That was almost exactly what Freya had done.

Louis read over her shoulder.

"Your previous world's readers were rude."

"They weren't wrong about the bags."

The final recorded comment had been posted minutes before Freya remembered being stabbed.

It said: Imagine waking up as Freya and refusing to follow the plot.

Freya stopped breathing for a second.

Claire stared at the screen.

Mercer looked fascinated until Louis gave him a warning look.

There was still no scientific explanation for how the Mirror node contained interaction data apparently originating somewhere else.

Freya surprised everyone by closing the file.

"That's enough."

Louis asked if she was sure.

"Yes."

For more than a year she had chased the reason she came here.

The backup proved something extraordinary had happened.

It did not tell her why.

Freya realized she could live with that.

She had spent enough time asking how she entered this story.

The more important question was what she would do with the life she had now.

The laboratory preserved hashes and forensic images of the Mirror backup so future researchers could examine the anomaly without repeatedly handling the original storage. Freya signed permission only for technical study. Her personal history, medical information, and private conversations were explicitly excluded.

The laboratory preserved hashes and forensic images of the Mirror backup so future researchers could examine the anomaly without repeatedly handling the original storage. Freya signed permission only for technical study. Her personal history, medical information, and private conversations were explicitly excluded.

The laboratory preserved hashes and forensic images of the Mirror backup so future researchers could examine the anomaly without repeatedly handling the original storage. Freya signed permission only for technical study. Her personal history, medical information, and private conversations were explicitly excluded.

The laboratory preserved hashes and forensic images of the Mirror backup so future researchers could examine the anomaly without repeatedly handling the original storage. Freya signed permission only for technical study. Her personal history, medical information, and private conversations were explicitly excluded.

The laboratory preserved hashes and forensic images of the Mirror backup so future researchers could examine the anomaly without repeatedly handling the original storage. Freya signed permission only for technical study. Her personal history, medical information, and private conversations were explicitly excluded.