"Shut up!" Her eyes were red. "You're going insane over that woman! A whole month! Do you know what you look like right now?"
"I..."
"You don't know anything!" Tears streamed down her face. "All you care about is finding her! But have you thought about me and Mom? If you collapse, what happens to us?"
"I..."
"Have you considered that your investigation has been wrong from the start?"
That stopped me cold.
"What do you mean?"
"Isabella Vance!" Anya was practically screaming. "Kholod, wake up! Ever since she showed up, haven't you and Noelle been having constant misunderstandings?"
"You're saying..."
"I'm saying Isabella has been manipulating you both all along!" She grabbed my shoulders, shaking me hard. "She always acts so innocent, drops those ambiguous hints! And you, you idiot, believed every word!"
I shot to my feet. I'd always felt Isabella was trouble, but that "savior" filter kept me from seeing her true nature.
"Dmitri!"
Seconds later, he appeared in the doorway. "Boss."
"Boss, we're processing it, but it's been so long. Some of the hospital recordings are corrupted—we need data recovery."
"I don't care what it takes!" I cut him off, my voice more urgentthan ever. "Double the manpower. I want to hear that recording ASAP!"
"Yes!"
He turned and rushed out.
Anya looked at me, wiping away her tears.
"Kholod, there's something else. When you were investigating the manor's information leaks, I went through the records—have you noticed the leaks started after Isabella arrived? When she left, they stopped." She gave me a meaningful look.
It hit me like lightning—why had I never considered this?
"Kholod, I never liked Noelle before, but I know she's not a bad person."
"I know."
"So you have to find her," Anya said. "And then treat her right."
"I will."
Three days later.
When Dmitri pushed through the door, he clutched an old recording device in his hands.
"Boss, we recovered the data." His voice trembled slightly. "This is the emergency call recording from back then."
My hands shook as I reached for the device.
"Boss," Dmitri pressed down on my hand. "You... should prepare yourself."
"Play it."
