Page 106 of Isabela

“Yes. When was the last time you ate, Isabela?” Harrison asks. Madison grabs all of the thumb drives and external hard drives on the desk, putting them into a bin to carry.

“Breakfast, I think,” I respond, trying to focus.

“Exactly,” Gael says, kissing my forehead before he walks out the door.

“I was so nervous, I barely ate breakfast,” I admit. Stashing my bag in my uncle’s office, I lock the door behind us. I’ll have to come back for it, since it has my entire life inside of it.

“Today is a big day,” Harrison says. “Any other life shattering things you want to tell me?”

“Other than the fact that my entire life is a rollercoaster I wish I could get off for a bit?” I ask. “It’s been nonstop insanity.”

Walking to the elevator, I chat with him. He’s easy to talk to, and I even tease him a bit.

“How did Laurene get like this?” I ask as the elevator makes its way downstairs.

“Once my daughter became a teenager, nothing was ever good enough for her,” he says sadly. “I don’t think I’m a bad father. I have two sons who have graduated from college, and my wife and I managed not to fuck them up too badly.”

“She took photos of me that she had no business taking,” I hiss. “Laurene wanted me out of Hoyt University. The dean never really spoke of repercussions toward Gael, which at the time was fine with me, but everything was my fault. I was the harlot of Babylon.”

“Really, Isabela?” Harrison snorts. Giggling, I shrug. That’s how it felt at the time. “I need to have a chat with my daughter. From what I understand, she’s been held in a cell in one of the Society’s facilities. She’s been left to stew since Monday night.”

I don’t think they’d hurt her, but just being in one of those cells has to be scary enough.

“Theodore says Laurene had Daddy issues,” I tell him just as we get to the lobby.

“I think he’s right,” Harrison grunts. “I want you and Gael to come with me when I confront her. You should hear whatever she has to say before I ship her off to be someone else’s problem. I’ve tried my best with her, but I’m out of my league.”

“Where would she go?” I ask as we step out into the lobby to find the little cafe here.

“There’s a boarding school in Ireland that has accepted her,” he says. “She’s just starting University, and she’s failing all of her courses. I think she needs to be pushed outside of her comfort zone.”

That’s tough love for you. Ordering a sandwich and a bottle of water, we sit down to eat before the press conference.

“No matter what happens today, take your time and think before you speak,” Harrison says. “I know you’ll be great.”

Smiling at him as I finish off my sandwich, I think about how he seems like he has awesome Dad skills, so what the hell happened with Laurene?

Chapter Twenty-Five

GAEL

The press conference went off perfectly. Isabela was a natural as she spoke to the media, being honest about her life with her uncle, how the mayor tried to buy her, and some of the things they were both involved in.

She rocked Phoenix to its core easily, stating that the police now have a file of their misdeeds. She also said that while she wasn’t involved in this, she is still taking it upon herself to unravel as much of the misery caused by them as possible.

Harrison stood next to her on one side, while I stood on the other, flanking her, daring the press to be an ass to her. Thankfully, no one was, and now we are headed to one more place before we can call it a day.

“It’s been the longest day of my life,” Isabela huffs from the back seat of the truck. Smirking, I glance over at Harrison, who shakes his head in amusement.

“I know, baby, but you’re doing so good,” I tell her before glancing in the rearview mirror. Isa simpers at me, showing me my brat is just fine.

Harrison grunts next to me, making me gaze over at him when I slow down at a red light.

“That’s going to take some getting used to, not going to lie,” he mutters.

Smirking at him, I shrug. “Your father is quite happy about it,” I say with a chuckle.

“God, I’m sure. Someone else he can feed and chat up during boozy brunches,” he says. “Penelope and I are considering moving back, and with recent developments, I think we should, so that I can be here more.”

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