When Izzy returned to the A7X mansion, it was with a heavy heart and sad eyes. She handed Jimmy the diamond heart pendant and swiftly made her way to her room. Throwing herself onto her bed, tears that she had been holding back slipped from beneath her long lashes when she closed her eyes. The necklace that was once so important to her had been stowed safely away in the false bottom of her jewelry box that she had in her previous home. When they searched for it, that was exactly where she found it. Memories of her father plagued her mind and Izzy felt more than overwhelmed. She didn’t want to think about him. Having lost him so cruelly was bad enough. The wound that Izzy had so callously stitched together now opened up; the pain and loss of losing her father feeling exactly the way it had when he had first died.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, Izzy had fallen into an exhausted sleep clutching one of her pillows close to her chest. Her breathing was shallow and even, her eyes moving furiously behind her eyelids as she slept. There was a soft knock on her door but Izzy did not awaken. Jimmy entered the room, his shoulders set and his eyes glowing with warmth and concern as he made his way to Izzy’s bed. Shaking her gently, Jimmy roused her from sleep and Izzy peered up at him, bleary eyed and with a pink tinged nose.

“I’m sorry for waking you but I needed to know if you were alright. It must have been hard going back.” Jimmy’s voice was gentle and soothing.

“I wish I didn’t feel like this. So much has changed Jimmy. Everything is different.” Whispered Izzy, not trusting her own voice not to break.

“Maybe when we go to the bank tomorrow, we’ll be able to figure everything out. Maybe things will get better.” Sighed Jimmy

“What if things don’t get better? What if things get worse than they are?” cried Izzy as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

“We can hope things get better. That’s the most we can do. I know your life has changed Izzy but you’ve changed so much over the last eight months. Everything always happens for a reason. At the very least, you coming here is one of the best things that’s happened to me in a very long time.” Confessed Jimmy, his voice filled with honesty.

Izzy scooted closer to Jimmy and hugged him close to her. He was her very best friend yet so different to Annie. She never thought that she would find someone like Jimmy, who always looked out for her, cared for her, loved her and genuinely thought the world of her. When she had first arrived at the mansion, he made the situation more bearable, holding her at night when she cried for her mother. He made her laugh when she needed to, never once caring about making a fool of himself while making sure she did. He encouraged her to make the most of each day when she felt like she wanted to give up.

“If it’s one thing I’m thankful for every single day, it’s you.” Whispered Izzy as Jimmy held her in his arms.

“Good, because I’m always going to be around. Tomorrow I’m taking you to the bank and or some ice cream.” Murmured Jimmy.

“You know, every time I want ice cream, something always happens with one of your rivals.” Laughed Izzy in spite of her tears .

“So, smoothies then?” chuckled Jimmy, his clear blue eyes shining in the dim lighting of the bedroom. “Smoothies should be a safer bet.”

“Was the necklace any use to Shadows?” asked Izzy softly, pulling out of Jimmy’s arms.

“Actually, there was a code, in the diamond itself. We brought a jeweler to examine it. Shadows thinks the code is the password.” Admitted Jimmy, his eyes twinkling.

“So what was the code.” Questioned Izzy curiously.

“Toofpaste.” Stated Jimmy, stifling a laugh.

Izzy groaned, a small smile on her face. “That man always had a strange sense of humor.”

“What’s the significance of ‘toofpaste’?” chimed Jimmy, a large smile on his face.

“I couldn’t say toothpaste when I was younger. Even when I got older, my dad would always put toofpaste on the grocery list.” Muttered Izzy as Jimmy laughed.

Tears and anguish forgotten, Izzy and Jimmy sat on the bed laughing together. Jimmy asked about Izzy’s childhood, the two of them giggling like teenage girls as Izzy enthusiastically shared her past.

****

“There’s something you need to see.” Jimmy’s voice was soft, too soft.

“What is it?” asked Izzy, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

“I think you should come down to Shadows’ office.” whispered Jimmy, not trusting his own voice.

Izzy pulled herself out of bed and followed Jimmy out of her room, the two of them walking in an unfamiliar silence towards Shadows’ office. Izzy knew she looked terrible but she could care less; the world was too much with her ever since she had returned from the bank with a flash drive in hand. She and Jimmy had gone to the bank and indeed, ‘toofpaste’ was the access code for the safety deposit box. Izzy touched the heart shaped pendant that hung around her neck as she walked next to Jimmy. They had spent less than an hour in the bank and had gone for smoothies just as Jimmy had promised. Vengeance seemed to have spent a few hours trying to access the information on the flash drive which was encoded. Confused as to what she could possibly need to see, Izzy entered Shadows’ office.

The office was filled with a hushed silence. Vengeance, Gates and Christ were all sitting around in the room, each one of them watching her cautiously as she entered.

“Take a seat Isabel.” Ordered Shadows, his tone business-like.

Izzy sat in her usual seat and Jimmy stood dutifully behind her, resting a hand gently on her shoulder.

“Vengeance was able to decode the information on the flash drive.” Stated Shadows dryly. “It’s a compilation of information on every single rival we have. An extensive compilation with everything we could possibly need to stop the madness spurred by Jake Night.” Shadows leaned forward on his desk, his hazel eyes dark and emotionless. “We have enough information to take down every single rival we have if we need to Isabel.”

“Do you think that this is what Jake Night is after?” asked Izzy softly. “You said that he wanted me when I first came here. Do you think he could have known about the information my father has left for you?”

“I don’t think he knew exactly what he was looking for but he knew that you were the key.” Answered Gates for Shadows. Izzy gave him a pained look and in return he gave her a small sympathetic smile. “No one but us knows about this information.”

“Tuck said that Night is always five steps ahead of everyone.” Whispered Izzy, fear creeping into her voice.

“This information has secured A7X with a position that will give us a fifty step advantage over Night.” Sneered Vengeance from his spot on the leather sofa. “Once we come up with a game plan, we can take out Night once and for all.”

“What did you want me to see?” asked Izzy, ignoring Vengeance. “I’m kind of tired, so if we could get this show on the road….”

“There was a video file on the flash drive. We didn’t look at it mainly because it’s addressed to you.” Said Jimmy gently, squeezing Izzy’s shoulder. “Do you want to see it by yourself or do you want someone to be with you?”

“You can all stay. Nothing to hide remember?” said Izzy, her stomach doing nervous flips.

Vengeance got up and placed a laptop on the desk in front of Izzy, his hand brushing her arm as he did. Izzy flushed slightly but pushed any thoughts of Vengeance to the back of her mind, even as he smirked deviously at her. Izzy could feel Jimmy’s body tense behind her and he gave her shoulder a small squeeze. Vengeance double clicked on the file that was labeled “izzy-bear” and retreated back to the sofa.

Izzy looked at the laptop screen and her heart constricted painfully as the video began. Her father smiled at her, his grin boyish but strained. He was fiddling with the camera and Izzy chuckled sadly as he struggled. Always been technogically challenged thought Izzy bitterly.

“Hi Izzy bear.” Began her father, his dark grey eyes tired and haunted. “I know things have probably changed for you and for that I am truly sorry. I trust that Matt was true to his word and that you are watching this in the safety of the A7X household. There is so much I wish I could tell you, to help you through everything, but I don’t have much time.”

Izzy felt tears pool in her eyes as her father raked a hand through his dark hair. She recognized the background in the video; the log cabin.

“You were everything I could ask for in a daughter and I want you to know that I will always be proud of you. I know that you are trying to be strong, to put up a brave front, but you don’t have to be strong all the time. Your life, by no fault of your own, is more than likely fraught with danger, because of me, but I know that Matt will do everything he can to keep you safe. He may not know this, but I always thought of him as a son. He’s a good man. Slightly misguided but a good man nonetheless. You have a friend in him, the way I did.”

Izzy’s eyes flickered to Shadows, whose expression was solemn. Izzy could see the traces of various emotions in his hazel eyes.

“There is a man, Jake Night, who I am sure has probably tried to get to you by now. He knows that I was working on something that could lead to his downfall, to the downfall of each of A7X’s rivals. He does not know what I was working on but Jake Night is a smart man and though I have carefully planned everything so that he will not discover anything, I am afraid that he will. He has friends in all the right places and I am very much certain that he now knows what I have kept hidden. Master Vengeance is a whiz-kid with technology, let him do what he needs to do with the information to ensure that Night does not ever get his hands on it. Izzy-bear, I know that you never asked for this life. I have brought it upon you with my choices in life and I can never truly express how sorry I am that you are paying for my mistakes. You are a beautiful, bright young woman and there is so much in store for you in this lifetime. One day everything will get better and you will have the life you deserve. Never forget how much I love you. I’m so sorry for everything my darling girl. You have a family with A7X. They will all take care of you. Mater Christ is quiet but he will never fail you and Master Reverend will never fail to make you smile and Master Gates has a heart of gold. If you ever need anything, you can always count on them. Don’t ever give up Izzy-bear. You have it within you to see yourself through this time in your life. I love you every day.”

Izzy silently wept as the screen went blank. A deafening hush had fallen over the entire office, not a single person made a sound. Jimmy stooped down next to Izzy and she held his hand as her father’s words repeated over and over in her ears even though the video had ended. .
Gates approached Izzy and produced a handkerchief from his pocket. He handed it to Izzy, resting a hand on her shoulders, knowing that she must be torn apart on the inside.

“Is that all you wanted?” wept Izzy softly, meeting Shadows’ eyes.

“Yes.” He replied, his voice tight and rigid. “You can leave now.”

****

Tears streamed down Izzy’s face as Gates led her to her bedroom. Jimmy had walked with them but turned back at the last moment, saying her needed to do something. The sense of being totally overwhelmed crashed over Izzy and she felt her knees buckle as her father’s tormented expression and sorrow filled words bombarded her from all directions. Gates swooped Izzy up into his arms and carried her to her bedroom as she cried into his neck. He wanted desperately to comfort Izzy, to make her smile again but he knew that seeing that video had done its damage. She was broken and he knew it.

Gates placed Izzy gently onto her bed and sat down next to her. She turned away from him, unwilling to let her weakness show anymore. She needed to be strong but even as she willed her tears away, they continued to fall relentlessly.

“You can cry in front of me Izzy.” Said Gates softly. “You’ve been through a lot recently and I’m not going to see you any differently.”

“Make the hurt go away Brian.” Pleaded Izzy, her voice muffled by the pillow she was hugging. “Make the pain stop.”

“I wish I could do that Izzy.” Breathed Gates, his voice low, threatening to crack.

“Make it stop please!” begged Izzy, her breathing erratic and shallow.

Izzy felt as if she were falling apart, her father’s video her undoing. She wanted to be strong, she just couldn’t find the strength anymore. Desperately needing solace and comfort, Izzy cried harder, knowing that she would never find it. Images of her father’s lifeless body dangling from the rafters of the log cabin flashed in her mind, followed by the sound of Night’s whip cracking against her skin. Pain so raw and pure coursed through Izzy’s body that she didn’t even feel it when Gates lay down next to her, nor did she feel his arms wrap around her. Her body shook violently as sobs racked her entire body, consuming her.