Chapter 8
404 Words
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*Chapter 8: Who’s Watching Us*
The camera lens glinted again. Then vanished.
Marcus pulled me behind a metal crate. “Down,” he whispered. Gun out. “Contract signed 4 minutes ago. Someone’s moving fast.”
My heart hammered. “Stary AI? D? Who else knows?”
“Not Stary,” he said. “Stary doesn’t watch through lenses. They watch through data.” He pointed at the warehouse roof. Tiny red light. “That’s human.”
My phone buzzed. Unknown number. Text: _Congrats on the contract, Ms. Writer. Chapter 8: Marcus dies at 7:03 PM._
7:00 PM now.
Marcus saw it. Cursed. “D is real. Stary’s test was real, but someone hijacked it.” He grabbed my laptop, typed fast. “If D can text you, D can see your drafts. D is inside Stary’s system.”
I remembered Auntie’s diary: “Mark Hale killed my brother.” Mark Hale. Marcus Hale. Same name.
“Marcus,” I whispered. “Did you kill my uncle?”
He froze. 7:01 PM. “No,” he said. “But my brother Mark did. And D is Mark’s son. Your cousin.”
The roof exploded. Wood and metal rained down. A figure dropped through smoke. Hoodie. Mask. Holding a gun.
“Hello Cousin Desire,” D said. Voice real this time. No distortion. “Welcome to the family business.”
He aimed at Marcus. 7:02 PM.
I stepped in front. “No. Chapter 8 ends with Desire choosing.” I pulled the contract from my bag. Tore it in half. “You want me? You get me. But not his death.”
D laughed. “Tearing paper doesn’t stop bullets.”
7:03 PM. Gun fired.
Marcus shoved me down. The bullet hit his shoulder, not his heart. He grunted but stayed standing. Blood on his shirt.
“I told you,” he growled at D. “She chooses life. Every time.”
Sirens outside. Stary security, finally. D vanished into smoke. Camera lens crushed under his boot.
Marcus pulled me up with his good arm. “Contract torn,” he said. “But promise stands. Yes to the man.”
I pressed my hand to his wound. “And yes to the story,” I said. Blood on my fingers. Chapter 8 ending.
Marcus typed 3 words on my laptop before passing out: _Find Auntie’s diary._
The warehouse went dark.
*To be continued…*
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- Writer
