Chapter 6
632 Words
Her own face stared back.
It was from three years ago; walking up the courthouse steps, David beside her in his FBI suit. The photo had been taken from across the street, zoomed in. She looked young in it. Scared but determined.
Beth set it aside. Pulled out another folder.
More photos spilled out.
Her leaving the Herald. Coffee shop near her old apartment. Grocery store. Gym. Walking down the street with her head down, trying to be invisible.
Someone had been following her. Watching. Documenting every move.
Her stomach turned over.
Had Marcus been…
No. Don't think it. But the thought was already there, digging in like a splinter.
Had he been stalking her even back then?
She dug deeper. Found newspaper clippings. The headlines made her chest tighten:
FBI AGENT KILLED IN HOME INVASION
Special Agent David Moretti Found Dead; Witness Protection Under Scrutiny
Kozlov Trial Witness Disappears After Agent's Murder
David's photo. Official portrait. Dark suit. Badge visible. That slight smile he always wore; the one that said he'd seen the worst of humanity but still believed in the good.
Professional. Confident.
Alive. God, he looked so alive.
Beth's eyes burned. She hadn't cried. Not once in three years. Had shoved the pain down so deep she'd convinced herself it didn't exist anymore.
Tried to become Beth Monroe. Leave Eliza Hartwell buried with David.
But his face…
It all came rushing back. His patience when she'd called at 2 AM with another lead. His guidance when she'd wanted to quit. The way he'd believed her story when everyone else said she was paranoid, chasing shadows that didn't exist.
He'd been family.
And then he was just…
Gone.
Beth blinked hard and reached for another folder, thicker than the others. The tab simply read: KOZLOV - ACTIVE.
She opened it carefully. Inside were more recent documents. Court filings about the case being reopened. A memo about new evidence that had surfaced. Witness statements from people she didn't recognize.
And then she saw it: a document that made her blood run cold.
It was a hit list.
Names typed in neat columns with dates beside them. Some names were written in red ink and crossed out. One unmarked.
Her eyes scanned down the list:
Thomas Rivera - 03/15/22
Angela Chen - 07/22/22
Michael Kowalski - 11/08/23
Eliza Hartwell - ACTIVE
Beth's hands started shaking again. Violently this time.
The names crossed out in red. Were they dead? Had the Kozlovs been hunting them all down, one by one, systematically eliminating…
"What are you doing?"
The voice came from behind her. Sharp. Cold.
Beth spun so fast the papers went flying; photographs, documents, everything scattering across the floor in a chaotic explosion.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. Once. Twice. Too hard.
Marcus stood in the doorway.
His face was dark. Furious.
"I was just…" The words tangled in her throat.
"Why did you go through my things?" His voice rose. Not loud. Worse than loud; controlled fury with an edge sharp enough to cut. "I told you not to touch anything!"
"I needed…"
"You needed to know?" He took a step into the room. Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "You needed to invade my privacy? Go through my files?" Another step. "You have no right."
"I have every right!"
Fear transformed. Became anger. Hot and righteous.
"You won't tell me anything! You drag me here, order me around like I'm some… some prisoner, and expect me to just trust you blindly?" Her voice was shaking now. From rage or terror, she couldn't tell. "I needed to know who you really are!"
Marcus stared at her. His chest heaving. Fury radiating from every line of his body.
The papers lay scattered between them.
Evidence of betrayal. Or maybe just evidence.
- Writer
