Chapter 52 Ava
Ava
Cold spreads through me.
Fast.
Sharp.
“No…”
Jonah looks at me.
“What?”
I don’t answer.
I’m already on comms.
“Ethan—don’t—”
Too late.
Hayes’s voice cuts through.
“Go ahead,” he says. “Tell him.”
My hands shake.
Not from pain.
From memory.
From everything I buried.
“Ava?” Ethan says. “What is he talking about?”
I swallow.
Hard.
“It’s not what he’s making it sound like—”
Hayes chuckles softly.
“Oh, I think it is.”
“Shut up,” I snap.
Silence.
Then—
Ethan again.
Softer.
“Ava… talk to me.”
I close my eyes.
Just for a second.
Then open them.
No more hiding.
“They didn’t just train me.”
The words feel heavier coming out.
Sharper.
“They built something into the system.”
Jonah goes still beside me.
“What kind of system?”
I stare at the signal.
At the truth sitting right in front of me.
“A failsafe.”
Silence.
Then Ethan—
“What kind of failsafe?”
My chest tightens.
Because now it’s real.
“They can track me.”
That’s not the worst part.
My voice drops.
Barely there.
“And if I stay off-grid too long…”
The words scrape on the way out.
“They can shut me down.”