PART 38: ISABELLA\u2019S BETRAYAL<\/p>\n
I stared at Ernesto\u2019s final message.<\/p>\n
ISABELLA WORKS FOR VICTORIA.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Clara took the paper from my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cErnesto would not use his final breath to lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia searched Isabella\u2019s abandoned chair.<\/p>\n
Beneath it, she found a small transmitter.<\/p>\n
It had been broadcasting every conversation in the hospital directly to Victoria.<\/p>\n
Isabella had not been kidnapped during the gas attack.<\/p>\n
She had walked away willingly.<\/p>\n
Every clue she gave us.<\/p>\n
Every recording she revealed.<\/p>\n
Every tear she cried.<\/p>\n
All of it had guided us toward the vault.<\/p>\n
Julian struck the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used us.\u201d<\/p>\n
But I remembered Isabella tied to the chair.<\/p>\n
The bruise on her face.<\/p>\n
The terror in her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr Victoria forced her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsabella has worked for Victoria for fifteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n
She revealed that Isabella\u2019s supposed death had been Victoria\u2019s idea. After Ernesto was poisoned, Isabella disappeared and became Victoria\u2019s most trusted courier.<\/p>\n
She moved money.<\/p>\n
Delivered threats.<\/p>\n
Silenced witnesses.<\/p>\n
And watched our family destroy itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would she do that?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Clara\u2019s answer broke something inside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victoria promised to return her daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could barely speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsabella has a child?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA daughter named Sofia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria had taken Sofia as an infant and hidden her overseas. For fifteen years, Isabella obeyed every command because she believed obedience was the only way to keep her alive.<\/p>\n
Then Patricia discovered something inside the transmitter.<\/p>\n
A stored audio message.<\/p>\n
She pressed play.<\/p>\n
Isabella\u2019s voice filled the corridor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you find this, Victoria already has me. Do not trust the photograph. Sofia died thirteen years ago. Victoria has been controlling me with prerecorded videos.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause followed.<\/p>\n
Then Isabella began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned the truth three weeks ago. I am not taking Victoria to the vault. I am taking her there to kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message ended.<\/p>\n
Clara looked toward the windows.<\/p>\n
Dawn was less than two hours away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Isabella kills Victoria before the vault scans her identity, it will lock permanently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd all the evidence disappears?\u201d Julian asked.<\/p>\n
Clara nodded.<\/p>\n
Along with any chance of proving what Victoria had done.<\/p>\n
We drove to the Vargas estate.<\/p>\n
The gates stood open.<\/p>\n
Inside, the house was dark.<\/p>\n
A trail of blood led from the entrance to the basement.<\/p>\n
We found Victoria beside the vault.<\/p>\n
She was on her knees.<\/p>\n
Isabella stood behind her with a gun pressed against her skull.<\/p>\n
Victoria looked at me and smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter finally arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStep away from her, Isabella,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe murdered my child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you shoot her, the evidence stays locked forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care about the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her finger tightened around the trigger.<\/p>\n
Then Victoria laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSofia is not dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isabella froze.<\/p>\n
A light came on behind the vault\u2019s glass door.<\/p>\n
A young woman stood on the other side.<\/p>\n
She looked exactly like Isabella.<\/p>\n
Sofia placed both hands against the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Isabella dropped the gun.<\/p>\n
Victoria seized it.<\/p>\n
She aimed at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen the vault,\u201d she ordered, \u201cor I kill all three of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
But before I could move, Sofia shook her head desperately.<\/p>\n
Then she wrote four words in the condensation covering the glass:<\/p>\n
SHE IS NOT VICTORIA.<\/p>\n
PART 38: ISABELLA\u2019S BETRAYAL I stared at Ernesto\u2019s final message. ISABELLA WORKS FOR VICTORIA. \u201cNo,\u201d I whispered. Clara took the paper from my hand. \u201cErnesto would not use his final … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3873,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864\/revisions\/3873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}