She laughed at his threat and looked up, her eyes shining and her veins pumping with adrenaline as she said, “It’s done.”
The relief that seeped through the atmosphere was crushing. But as soon as this wave passed, another crashed in.
“We’ve handled the places in Europe.” Angel’s voice was warm, coated with professional confidence as he laced his fingers and looked up at Maya, “You won’t be facing any problems until you decide to release a statement.”
The woman merely nodded in response, instead turning to gaze at Ray curiously, “You’re an odd thing, you know that?” she started softly, tilting her head as she did so. Ray hid her bristle at her words, “You’re always prepared. No matter what comes.”
Ray’s shoulders pushed back, her eyes going hard, “I’mloyal.I’d do anything.”
It might have been the right answer because Alessandro stepped in between them, his eyes on Angel’s as he did so. Ray’s gaze broke from Maya’s and turned to the other boy instead.
He lookednothinglike the carefree boy this morning.
Not a hair out of place, not an emotion flickering on his face, Angel De Santos was pure, unyielding stone as he stared back at Alessandro.
The larger man pushed back his shoulders, rubbing his beard solemnly as he did so,
“You faced this last year.” He began and Ray stiffened. But Angel merely sniffed as he tipped his chin in agreement. Alessandro hummed, “What did you find?”
Angel’s response was immediate as if he’d beenwaitingfor the question, “They’re slippery. Awfully so. They don’t leave any traces behind, making it all the more tough to find out who they are.”
“So, there are no leads.” Verana cut in, her tone razor sharp as her eyes settled on Luke’s. To his credit, Luke just cast her a wary glance before turning back to Angel,
“We might not knowwhothey are. But we do understand the way they work.” Luke said, and Alessandro hummed deeply again, turning to face his wife. Maya wasn’t looking at him, had instead turned away to look out the window at the afternoon sun.
So early,Ray couldn’t help but think as her eyes followed Maya’s,it was so early for all this to begin.
“The fires in Milan were just a statement,” Maya said softly and Kyle grunted his agreement, choosing to continue in her heed,
“Other facilities around the world haven’t burnt down. But they’ve lost manpower. We’ve lost all our labor, all our capital.” He said grimly, and Ray nodded, “Those places have been stranded and all our business has shut down.”
A sudden thought hit her then, making her blink at how she hadn’t realized this before. Verana caught her expression, her eyebrows shooting up in question.
“They don’t have enough resources,” Ray answered and saw Angel’s eyes turn to hers. She scoffed as a smile grew on his face,
“Meaning they’re a small group. They hirechildren,”she spat out the word,
“They’re a small group withdigitalpower.”
That smile widened.So the asshole knew.
“Think about it,” she said just as someone she hadn’t met yet wandered into the room,
“Fires were set only in Milan. But the other facilities have suddenly been stranded out of nowhere. How did news spread so quickly? How did they work so fast? No one knew we were looking at June taking over Nathan’s business. It was only announced on the second day here, and they attackedimmediately.”
Almost hastily,Ray didn’t have to add. She saw it in the way Maya’s eyes glintedwhite.
“The next day they ambushed us, that too likeamateurs.”Ray continued, “They keep viciously attacking without any game plan. Without any physical means. All they have are the pieces they scramble to get at the last possible minute. The kids, June’s death, and now this sudden isolation.”
Her voice rose as the thoughts ranwild,“They don’t know what they’re doing. All they want is to put us down. Have been trying to do so ever since this week began. This could only meantwothings,” she put two fingers in the air,
“One, they’re here. On this island – hiding as one of us.”
She didn’t dare look at Angel. Both of them were thinking the same thing,Sorin Ardelean?
“And two,”
“They’re digitally equipped.” a smooth female voice cut through. Ray blinked at the interruption and turned to see red hair and the brightest brown eyes she’d ever seen. The girl smiled back, a phone in her hand as she dipped her chin as ahello.Ray nodded back, seeing her piercing glint under the sunlight as the girl turned on her heels to face Maya,
