I stared at the laptop screen, my stomach twisting into knots. The flash drive clicked once, and the files opened in a neat, cold list of names. Dozens of them. Some crossed out in red, others left untouched. Victims. Targets. People who had been in Rafael's way.
And then I saw it.
Aurora.
My own name. Written in black letters, with a red circle around it. No cross-out line. Still active.
I felt the air leave my lungs. It was as if someone had punched me straight in the chest. My hands shook so hard the mouse slipped from my fingers and clattered against the desk.
It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't someone else. It was me.
My throat went dry. "What the hell…" I whispered.
Behind me, the door creaked.
I slammed the laptop shut so fast my fingers stung.
"Aurora," Rafael's voice came low, careful. The kind of careful he used when he already knew something was wrong.
