Page 105 of Isabela

“No, there are good bones in the company and good people who deserve to earn their salary. I just need to figure out a way to turn this around,” I say. “I already decided I don’t need a salary, so that isn’t a problem. I just need to get things in a better place for everyone.”

“You really don’t want a salary?” Carl asks, surprised.

“Elijah Cohen drained my trust the second he could,” I say with a sigh. I feel exhausted already after this whirlwind of a day. “I haven’t had any money since my parents died. He paid my university costs, my apartment to isolate me when he beat the shit out of me, and my car. I work as a teacher’s assistant for my essentials like food and gas.”

Harrison growls under his breath, pissed off at my confession.

“Money is great, but it made me realize I can survive without it. The faster we get things turned around, the sooner I can pay for next year’s tuition,” I say with a shrug. “Ideas for this?”

“We have people clamoring for our services, but Elijah didn’t want to take on anyone he didn’t approve of,” Carl says. “We can start taking those clients to start with.”

“As long as they aren’t sex traffickers or criminals, I’m in,” I state. Carl smiles weakly at me.

“They probably weren’t if your uncle didn’t want to take them on,” he says, making me snort.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I murmur.

Done repacking my bag, I look around the room. “Anything else you need Harrison and I for?”

“I’ll send the list of people who have contacted us so you can also help approve them,” Carl states. “There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to finish school. What year are you again?”

“I just finished my junior year,” I reply.

“You’re so close,” he grunts. “We’ll figure it all out. I’m glad you’re on board and safe, Isabela. I’m so sorry for all of this ugliness.”

Me too.

“Thank you,” I tell him. God, I’m so tired. Lifting my bag to my shoulder, I turn to leave the room.

“Your uncle probably has a coffee machine in his office,” Harrison murmurs as we walk out. “Let’s get some caffeine into both of us. It’ll probably help the next few hours go smoothly.”

“Yes, please,” I groan. “I feel as if I’ve run a marathon.”

“Isa, I’m going to head over to you. I want to be there when you have the press conference, and then we have something to take care of together. I’ll see you soon,” Gael says.

“Take care of yourself, Isabela,” Theodore says before the line goes dead.

Wincing, I pull the tiny comm out of my ear and drop it into the pocket of my satchel.

“It’s so quiet now,” I whimper with a laugh.

“Your life is so adventurous for a twenty-one year old, huh?” Harrison teases as we walk to meet Madison.

“Understatement of the year,” I mutter.

Forty minutes later, coffee, and a trip down the rabbit hole of my uncle’s computer and I’m ready to go back to bed.

Uncle Eli really liked his pornography, especially snuff porn. There were also detailed logs of each “transaction” per person sold with a special number by it. A deeper dive into the encoded areas of his computer, and Madison found the name that corresponded to each number.

“I don’t know if these are real names, but it’s a good starting point,” Madison admits. “There’s so much on this computer, I think I should just take the whole thing.”

“Do it,” Gael says. “There has to be a cart that will help you take it downstairs to your car to load it up. Hell, I have a little time, let’s get this computer powered down and taken apart.”

Gael got here twenty minutes ago, and his hand has been on my back the entire time. The man is a rock of comfort. I even saw Harrison glance at us a couple of times and smile knowingly. At least he’s not asking prying questions anymore.

Working quickly, they power down the computer and then take it apart.

“Harrison, there’s a cafe downstairs. Can you get her some food, please?” Gael asks as he lifts the base unit.

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