Page 44 of Damian
Her breadcrumbs hadn’t just helped—they’d brought us here. And if she’d gotten this close on her own…
I clenched my fists, staring out into the night.Please, Morgan. Stay safe.
Because the closer we got to Luthor, the closer she was, too.
57
Morgan
I’d told myself I could rest after sending the last breadcrumb. That I’d done enough. But the truth was, rest didn’t come.
The cottage was quiet, Ruby was still asleep in the back room, the night pressing against the windows like a heavy weight. I sat at my desk, scrolling through the files I’d dug up, my recorder blinking steadily at my side. It’s been four days since I saw Damian, and I missed him.
At first, it was nothing new—more names, more shell companies, all woven into the pipeline I’d already traced. But then I noticed it.
A login I didn’t recognize. Not mine. Not anything tied to the team. A digital fingerprint, subtle but wrong, tucked into the same stream I’d been using to reach Cyclone.
My pulse spiked.
Someone else had seen it.
I pulled back, hands trembling as I shut down the feed, slamming the laptop closed. But the thought burrowed deep: if they’d found me in the data, it was only a matter of time before they found me here.
The recorder clicked on before I even realized I’d pressed it. “Note: My breadcrumb path isn’t hidden anymore. Someone’s watching the same trail. If it’s Luthor’s people, they know I’m feeding the team. I need to be careful.”
I snapped it off, staring at the little red light as if it could betray me.
The cottage creaked in the silence, the old wood groaning with the cool night air. Usually, I’d dismiss it. Tonight, my nerves jumped at every sound.
I forced myself to check the locks twice, three times, before finally climbing into bed next to Ruby. She shifted in her sleep, her head pressing against my shoulder like she used to when she was little. I wrapped an arm around her, whispering into her hair:
“We’re okay. We’re still okay.”
But my eyes stayed fixed on the dark window across the room.
Because for the first time, I wasn’t sure how long that would last.
58
Morgan
Morning should have felt normal. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, the kettle hissed softly on the stove, and Ruby shuffled into the kitchen with bedhead and sleepy eyes. But I couldn’t shake the chill that clung to me after last night.
I’d barely touched my coffee when Ruby frowned. “Why were you up so late?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said too quickly, forcing a smile. “You know me—once my brain gets stuck on something, it won’t shut off.”
She didn’t look convinced.
When she left to get dressed, I powered up the laptop again. My stomach dropped the second the screen lit. A notification blinked back at me—an access attempt from an unfamiliar source. Blocked, but barely. Whoever it was, they weren’t just poking around. They were pushing hard, almost slipping past my firewall.
I slammed the lid down, heart hammering.
A low rumble outside made me jump. I rushed to the window, peeking through the curtains. A white van crawledpast on the gravel road. Not unusual—except it slowed right in front of the cottage. The driver didn’t look at the scenery. He looked atthe house.Atme.
I froze, barely daring to breathe until it rolled on.
My recorder clicked on under my palm, the red light steady. “Note: Online breach attempts confirmed. Van passed the cottage—the driver slowed to watch. Could be nothing. But I don’t think it is. I don’t like what I’m thinking.”
