Despite her words, the victory seemed hollow. Her hands trembled slightly as she held the drive though her face remained composed.
“We should take this directly to Vince,” Matt said, gesturing to the drive.
“No,” Nina countered immediately. “We should head to the airport. Get everyone off the island before Grey returns, or whoever else arrives.”
Isabella’s expression shifted, determination replacing shock. “I need to hack into Grey’s computer, as well. If these are just the official records, imagine what he keeps in his personal files.”
“No way,” Matt said.
“Too dangerous,” Nina continued.
“We gather everyone and leave immediately,” I said, my tone leaving no room for debate. “With a containmentteam en route, this island will soon become a battleground. If Grey comes back before then, he won’t go down without a fight.”
And if Grey and the Paraskia were on the same side, I didn’t want to wait to be the only ones on the other side.
As we prepared to leave the communications room, Isabella hung back, waiting until the others had exited before addressing me privately.
“We need the information from Grey’s computer,” she insisted. “We could just take it with us.”
“We’re leaving, right the fuck now,” I replied, checking my weapon.
“But—”
“You have enough evidence to destroy Grey ten times over,” I barked. “Let it go.”
She studied my face, suspicion darkening her eyes. “Are you really concerned about everyone’s safety, or are you trying to hide the fact that the Paraskia sanctioned all of this?”
The accusation stung more than it should have. “We’re on the same side, Isabella.”
“How exactly are we on the same side?” she challenged, her voice rising slightly. “The Paraskia knew what Grey was doing. They let it happen. You are the Paraskia. And once we leave, when this is over, is there really an us?”
The question hung between us, impossible to answer honestly. Was there an us when this was over? I had no promises to offer her, no guarantees that made sense in either of our worlds.
My silence was answer enough.
“So much for being on the same side,” she said, the hurt in her voice carefully masked by coldness.
She turned away, the drive clutched tightly in her hand, leaving me watching her retreating form.
Words caught in my throat—explanations, justifications, perhaps even truths I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
Instead, I remained silent as the door closed behind her, the ghost of what might have been lingering in the empty room.
I caught up with Isabella in the hallway, unwilling to leave things as they were. The others had moved ahead, giving us a moment of privacy.
“Shorty, wait,” I said, my voice low enough that only she could hear.
She paused but didn’t turn. “Unless you’re about to tell me something useful about how you plan to stop Grey’s operations, we have nothing to discuss.”
“You asked what happens when this is over,” I began, choosing my words carefully. “The truth is, I don’t know.”
Now she turned, her expression guarded. “That’s not good enough.”
“It’s all I have,” I admitted. “My siblings and I have been planning our split from the Paraskia for months. But after what we just discovered…” I gestured toward the drive in her hand. “I don’t know what organization I’m even leaving anymore. And if they’ll even let us leave.”
Something in my tone must have reached her. Her posture softened slightly.
“You really didn’t know?”
