Pretty lies

fifty three- no way in hell

Alessandro Marino:

Ever since Sofia came back, everyone has been on high alert. Each door is manned twenty four seven and no one trusts anyone.

Iris is out and that is a fact. She is bound to be angry and seeking further revenge, but that isn't what scares me. Isadora is what the person that terrifies me.

She hasn't been the same since the news came ; she's been cold and distant to everyone, even the kids. At night, she hardly comes near me when we are in bed. At this point, I'm just lucky she's in our bed since she doesn't communicate at all in the day.

I understand how much pressure she is under right. I mean, all eyes are on her and whatever her next move is going to be. Isadora and her grandmother will lock themselves in my office for the majority of the day doing god knows what and I'd be lying if I said it didn't worry me.

Tristan now sits beside me in Sullivan's bar, a place which now stands for far more than a get together.

"How has she been taking all of this?" Tristan asks as he finally pulls himself away from his bowl of chilli, god bless Sullivan's wife and her fabulous cooking.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Have you tried talking to her? I get she's a tough cookie but, sometimes you just need to dig a little deeper with Isadora."

"I think I've exhausted every measure I possibly can. She won't talk me or anyone, for that matter."

"This is just- it's crazy to me. She's not one to shy away from sharing her frustration whether it be to a stranger or to us. That woman lives to rant." That what confuses me most. Where has my Isa gone?

Isadora Rose:

"I know you're angry, but you can not talk to your grandmother like that." Abuela scolds me a second time as I tilt my head back in frustration.

"You don't get it. I had her in my grasp, I won abuela and it felt amazing. But now, she's one step ahead again and I have no idea how I'm going to catch up."

Yes, it's been four days and we still haven't found Iris. She's on the run still and no one has seen her- well, it's either that or my allies are lying pieces of shit.

"We are going to catch up and we will win this fight. She can not do much that we will not find out about." Abuela attempts to reassure me yet it only deepens the wound.

"Yeah, she can't do much, but she can still do something. It was that something that killed Lola and Tanya. It was that something that took my family away from me. That something is what keeps me up at night."

"I have a meeting scheduled with Catalina and the rest of your team so I suggest you join us when you're ready." She tells me straight before leaving the office without sparing another word.

Now I am left alone with my thought, I can finally think. I have gone through every possibility of where I thinks Iris may have gone yet every lead only brought us to another dead end. At this point, we are just playing her game and there is no way she'll let us win, no way in hell.

That was when it hit me.

Her game.

Since the beginning, this had been a giant game of cat and mouse. She had something I wanted and I chased it like a predator would its prey. I won the first game and it seems she is back for round two.

Dashing down to my team, I ignore the calls of concern from passing staff and faces I didn't have time to recognize. One singular thought brews in my mind as I burst through those towering timber doors.

"It's a game!" I blurt out as those seated once comfortably now stare up at me in utter confusion.

"What are you talking about, sobrinanieta? Do you need to sit down for a minute? I know you are under a lot of-" Catalina ushers me towards a chair before I pull out of her grasp.

"I'm fine, never better. I know how to find Iris."

The room falls silent as calm faces turn eager yet pained. We all have a connection to Iris and as much is is hurts to view her in this light, she had been the one digging her own grave.

"Tell us how." Julia speaks up as her sister beside holds back tears, their hands tightly bonded.

"Iris views this whole situation as a big game and she thinks she is the one winning since she has something we want, her." I begin to explain as abuela too sits to hear me out.

"Initially, she had my siblings as leverage because they were something that I would run after. She thought that if I came to her then that meant she could utilize an opportunity as kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."

"I still don't understand how this links to us finding her." Davi interrupts from the back of the room.

"Just give me a minute and I'll get there. In this version of the game, round two, her leverage is herself. Iris wants us to run after her, which would be just like leading a lamb to slaughter. But, this time round, we're going to play her game."

"So, you're planning of leading us on a suicide mission?" Julia scoffs from the corner as frustration coats her face. This is extremely hard for her and I understand that better than anyone else in the room would.

"No, you know me better than that, Julia. Do you mind me continuing or do you need a minute?"

"Keep talking."

"We're going to play the game, but we're going to play by our rules and not hers. There is no doubt in my mind that she has been checking our servers and trying to find weak spots, so we're going to feed her one." I see something click in abuelas head as a small smirk creeps across her face. She knows exactly where this is going.

"My plan is to implant what appears to be plans for a gathering of the mafias at this house for tomorrow night. Iris will hopefully take the bait and she'll wonder straight into our trap. Then boom."

"Boom?"

"Boom."