Secrets Don’t Stay Buried
943 Words
My world cracked the moment I saw that photo.
Me, no older than eight.
And Damien… standing beside me like he belonged there.
Like he always had.
The name scrawled at the bottom chilled me:
Project Sin – Subjects 01 & 02.
The air in the safehouse grew thick, suffocating. I dug deeper into the drive, desperate for answers.
All redacted.
Names, dates, locations—blacked out. Only one phrase repeated over and over like a warning etched in blood.
“Asset compromised. Eliminate before activation.”
A knock shattered the silence.
Three taps.
Pause.
Two more.
The signal.
I grabbed my blade and opened the door—expecting Vincent.
Instead, it was her.
Mina Vale.
Black widow. Ex-Eclipse. And my oldest ghost.
“You’re still alive,” she said with a smirk, stepping inside like she owned the place.
I didn’t lower my blade. “What the hell do you want?”
“To save your life,” she purred. “And maybe… end his.”
---
Flashback – Four Years Ago
We were partners once—Mina and I.
Until she betrayed us all.
Sold intel to a rogue syndicate, framed me for the breach, and vanished without a trace.
I should’ve killed her on sight.
But right now, she might be the only person who could tell me what Project Sin was.
---
Present
“I know what you found,” she said, lighting a cigarette and glancing at the screen. “And I know who he really is.”
I didn’t speak.
“Damien wasn’t just a target,” she said slowly. “He was trained for one thing—to control you.”
Laughter nearly spilled from my lips, but nothing about this felt funny.
“Control me?” I repeated. “Try again.”
Mina’s smile dropped. “You think the chemistry’s real? The tension? The pull? No, Aria. It’s programming. You two were bred together. Built like twin blades. You were meant to be his weapon.”
I stepped closer, fire in my blood. “Lies.”
“Search your instincts. Why do you hesitate around him? Why didn’t you shoot? Why did you kiss him back?”
That stopped me.
The file. The pull. The way he looked at me—like he remembered something I didn’t.
“Then why warn me?” I asked.
Mina’s expression darkened. “Because they reactivated Project Sin. Eclipse doesn’t trust you anymore.”
I felt it before she said it.
“I’m the backup,” she whispered. “If you don’t kill Damien Black in three days... they’ll kill you.”
---
Meanwhile – Damien’s Underground Bunker
Damien sat across from a man with no name.
A voice-changer distorted every word that left the stranger’s lips.
“She found the photo,” the voice rasped.
“I gave it to her,” Damien replied.
“You risk exposure.”
“I risk control,” Damien corrected. “She’s off balance now. Unstable. She’ll come to me. She always does.”
“And if she remembers?”
Damien leaned back, fingers steepled. “Then she’ll know who the real enemy is.”
A pause.
“Proceed to phase two.”
Damien stood. “It’s already begun.”
---
Later That Night – Berlin, Rainfall
I shouldn’t have gone.
But I did.
I met Damien on neutral ground—a rooftop overlooking the city, raindrops hissing on metal.
He was already there, in that tailored black suit, staring at the skyline like he could rewrite it.
“You look different,” he said without turning.
“You look the same,” I said. “Like a lie I never questioned.”
He finally faced me, and the storm in his eyes matched mine.
“You saw the file.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And I came here to kill you.”
He stepped closer. “Then why didn’t you bring your gun?”
I didn’t answer.
We stood inches apart, soaked in memory and mistrust.
He reached for me—but I stepped back.
“No more games, Damien. Who am I?”
His smile was sharp. “You’re mine.”
Lightning struck. Thunder roared.
And then—
He whispered, “They’re lying to you.”
“Who?”
“Eclipse. Vincent. Mina. All of them.”
I stiffened. “You know about Mina?”
“I know everything.”
“How?”
“Because I was awake when they turned you off.”
I grabbed my knife.
He didn’t flinch.
“They wiped you, Aria. You were the weapon. I was the trigger. But I changed the target.”
“You expect me to believe you’re trying to save me?”
“No. I expect you to remember me.”
He stepped forward and pressed something into my palm.
A locket.
Inside—another photo.
Me. Him. Younger. Smiling.
Not as assets.
As kids.
“What is this?” I whispered.
“The only truth left.”
Before I could speak, a sniper round cracked through the air.
It missed Damien.
It hit me.
My shoulder exploded in pain. Blood sprayed.
Damien lunged, catching me before I fell.
Above, the shadow of a figure disappeared across the roofline.
“Aria—look at me,” Damien growled.
My vision blurred.
The last thing I saw… was his face.
Not cold.
Not calculating.
Terrified.
---
Cliffhanger – Eclipse Headquarters
Vincent watched the sniper footage on loop.
“She hesitated again,” Mina said behind him.
Vincent’s face twisted. “Activate full protocol.”
Mina smiled.
“What now?” she asked.
“We kill her.”
- Writer
