Chapter 23 Setting The Snare

• (POV: Rena Montoya)
• That soft click as the door closed seemed to seal the quiet around me. I didn't move from the bed's edge for a while, just sat still, letting my hearing stretch down the corridor, catching the light tap of Isabela’s shoes growing more and more distant until they were gone completely. Poor Isa. Walking away filled with such fragile, desperate hope. Clutching that piece of paper – the map to her supposed freedom, the name of her imaginary contact – like it was a holy relic.
• A slow, cold smile touched my lips. Foolish girl.