Chapter 6: The Name on the List
267 Words
Damian’s hand was shaking.
Not from fear.
From blood loss.
Aria tightened the fabric around his wound, pulling a strip from her shirt and pressing hard until he exhaled sharply.
“You’re not dying,” she said firmly. “You don’t get to.”
A faint smirk touched his lips. “Bossy.”
“Focus.”
Outside, the footsteps faded. For now.
She reached for his jacket to move it aside — and something fell from the inner pocket.
A small encrypted drive.
Her heart dropped.
“That’s not yours,” she said quietly.
Damian didn’t answer.
She plugged it into her laptop.
“You shouldn’t—”
The file opened instantly.
The same symbol from the original file appeared.
SURVIVOR INDEX
Names scrolled down the screen.
Red marks next to some.
Black next to others.
“Red means confirmed dead,” Damian said softly.
Her stomach twisted.
“And black?”
“Pending.”
She kept scrolling.
Journalists. Whistleblowers. Ex-military.
Her breathing grew shallow.
Then she saw it.
Halfway down.
ARIA COLE — STATUS: PENDING
Her vision blurred.
“No,” she whispered.
Damian forced himself upright. “You weren’t random. The email was bait.”
“For who?”
“For me.”
Silence crushed the space between them.
“You used me,” she said.
His jaw tightened. “I protected you.”
“You tracked me.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me.”
A beat.
“Yes.”
Her pulse roared in her ears.
Outside, a metal door creaked open.
They weren’t alone anymore.
And this time…
The footsteps were inside.
- Writer
