Chapter 8
876 Words
Lyra’s POV
I don’t hesitate.
I plug in the second flash drive, ignoring the weight in my chest and the buzzing in my ears.
The label burns in my mind:
> “In case he lies.”
I’m not sure if I’m ready.
But I’m already here.
The screen flickers. A video file opens.
Jade appears.
Tired. Pale. Older than I remember.
She’s sitting in the same room I’m in right now—her old room.
It’s night. The only light comes from a small lamp beside her. Her eyes are red from crying.
And her voice… is not the one I remember.
---
> “If you’re watching this, Ly, it means he’s still lying. Or maybe you’re in deeper than I thought. Either way… I need you to listen.”
I freeze.
> “Damien didn’t kill me. He saved me. More than once. But he also—he also used me. Let me believe I was safe when I wasn’t. Let me believe we had a plan when he knew I’d never walk away clean.”
My stomach twists.
> “I loved him. I know how that sounds. I know you want to scream at me right now, but I did. And I think… in his own broken way, he loved me too. But this world he lives in? It doesn’t allow love. Only leverage.”
My fingers curl into the blanket beside me.
> “He’ll try to protect you. That’s his favorite lie. That he can control the fire without burning you. But you’re already burning, Ly. You just haven’t noticed.”
Then she pauses.
Looks dead into the camera.
Eyes sharp.
> “If he tells you I’m dead… don’t believe him. If he tells you to trust him blindly… run. And if you find the third flash drive, do not open it unless you’re ready to know everything.”
The screen goes black.
And I realize I’m shaking.
There’s a third flash drive?
---
Damien’s POV
I feel it the moment something shifts.
Like the house exhales.
Like the walls are listening again.
I find her in Jade’s room.
She’s sitting on the floor, knees pulled to her chest, laptop open.
I don’t need to ask.
I know what she saw.
Her eyes meet mine, hollow and bright at the same time.
“You used her,” she says.
I don’t answer.
Because it’s true.
Not the way she means—but in a way that still matters.
She stands. “You said you tried to save her.”
“I did.”
“But you also destroyed her.”
I take a step forward. “She knew what she was doing.”
“And I don’t?” she snaps.
“I never said that.”
“No, but you treat me like it. Like I’m this fragile thing you can keep in a gilded cage while you lie to my face.”
I look at her.
Really look.
And I see it now.
She’s done being handled.
Good.
Because I’m done lying.
---
“There is a third flash drive,” I admit.
She stiffens.
“But it’s not in this house. And if you watch it… there’s no going back.”
She crosses her arms.
“Then tell me what’s on it.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Won’t,” I say. “Because once you know, they’ll come for you.”
She laughs bitterly. “Newsflash, Damien — they already are.”
---
Suddenly, the house alarms blare.
A sharp, shrill warning that something’s wrong.
I draw my gun.
Lyra backs away, startled.
“Get to the panic room,” I say.
She doesn’t move.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I said go—”
Glass shatters downstairs.
Too late.
We’re not alone anymore.
---
Lyra’s POV
Everything happens fast.
Gunfire. Footsteps. Voices I don’t recognize.
Damien pushes me behind the desk, hands me a second weapon.
I’ve never shot one before.
But now’s not the time for doubt.
He moves like a ghost — silent, deadly, precise.
But there are too many of them.
Whoever they are, they came prepared.
One of them reaches the study door.
Damien fires.
Blood sprays.
I scream.
The man falls.
And then another comes from behind — I didn’t see him.
Neither does Damien.
I don’t think.
I move before I think.
I pull the trigger.
The sound is deafening.
The man collapses.
And I—
I just killed someone.
---
Damien pulls me close.
Breathing hard.
“You okay?”
I can’t speak.
My ears are ringing. My hands are shaking.
He touches my cheek.
“Look at me.”
I do.
And that’s when I see it.
Blood.
On his shirt.
Spreading.
Fast.
“Damien…”
He stumbles.
I catch him as he sinks to the ground.
My voice breaks. “No. No, no, no—stay with me.”
He grits his teeth. “I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“It’s not fatal.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m still looking at you.”
I laugh. Choked. Terrified.
He smiles, faint.
“I told you… fire always leaves a mark.”
- Writer
