Chapter 24 Ethan
Ethan
The world feels like it’s tipping.
Not loud.
Not chaotic.
Just… shifting.
Like something bigger just moved into place.
Jonah’s voice cuts through the comms.
Tight.
Controlled.
“Cross… you need to see this.”
I don’t move.
Not yet.
My focus stays on Ava—on the rise and fall of her breathing, on the pressure under my hands, on making sure she’s still here—
Still with me.
Still fighting.
Only when I’m sure—
only when I know she’s not slipping—
do I stand.
Move to Jonah.
He’s already holding the tablet out.
Live feed.
News.
Red banner scrolling across the bottom.
Something in my chest tightens before I even see it.
Then—
I do.
“No…”
Behind me, Ava’s voice—
“What is it?”
I can’t answer.
On the screen—
A world leader stands at a podium—
mid-speech—
Then falters.
His hand lifts—
shakes—
He collapses.
Hard.
The crowd erupts.
Security surges forward.
Too late.
Way too late.
“They just hit him,” Jonah says quietly.
“Who?” Aaron asks.
Jonah swallows.
“Prime Minister Kova?.”
Silence drops over us.
Heavy.
Final.
Because now it’s not contained.
Not quiet.
Not hidden in the shadows.
This is global.
“They’re not waiting,” Ava says behind me.
I don’t turn.
“No.”
“They’re accelerating.”
Yeah.
They are.
Ronan steps forward, eyes locked on the screen.
“They know we’re onto them.”
Behind me, I hear Ava shift.
Push herself up.
Ignoring the injury.
Of course she is.
“We’re not fast enough,” she says.
Her voice isn’t panicked.
It’s sharp.
Focused.
Dangerous.
I turn to her.
Meet her eyes.
“Then we get faster.”
Something settles between us.
Solid.
Certain.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Because this isn’t about us anymore.
Not just the list.
Not just Hayes.
Not just the past.
This is bigger.
This is global.
And if we don’t move fast enough—
there won’t be anything left to save.