Finally, after Stephen has wrapped both of my arms, from fingertips to elbows, the door swings open. Ollie trapezes in with a huge smile on her face. My father follows after, chewing on his lip and wringing his hands.

Mandy enters a moment later and kneels down on the carpet in front of me. "How are you feeling?" She touches my chin, but I pull away.

"Don't ask."

She scowls at me. "Are you mad?"

"Sort of," I admit. "Yeah, I am."

"For what?" Mandy sits back on her feet and gapes at me. "We just saved your life!"

"And I do appreciate that, but I wouldn't have been in this situation if Ollie hadn't sent us in the first place."

Both of us look at Ollie. She's sitting in the high-backed office chair and swaying back and forth gently. She freezes once she notices us staring at her.

"You're mad at me?"

"I have every reason to be!" I sit up in the chair and lean towards her. "It's your fault Isaac and I are in this situation."

"How so? You volunteered, remember?"

I glare. "So you just let children do whatever they want? I didn't know what I was getting into. You're an adult; you're supposed to make sure I don't do anything stupid."

"No one really knew what you were getting into," Mandy interjects. "And I tried to tell Ollie it wasn't a good idea to send you. Not with such a small support group, anyway. Then Hartley showed up, and everything sort of collapsed."

"Literally," Ollie says, sitting up now. "Look, I know you're mad, but I had to do what was best for everyone. Surely you get that."

"I do, but next time, maybe you shouldn't send a kid."

Ollie runs a hand through her hair and looks at my dad. "Anything to add, Doctor?"

He purses his lips into a line and gives her a look that's dripping in annoyance. "I'm on her side, Olivia. If you hadn't sent her back, Hartley's plan would have fallen through. Because Jaelyn was the one who came, he knew exactly how to stop her."

"Because you helped him!"

Dad gapes at her. "I had no other choice! I knew my daughter was alive, and I didn't want to be killed. She'd already lost one parent; that's more than enough."

"She didn't lose me." Mandy rises to her feet, turning on him. "You infected me and left me for dead."

"Actually, Amanda, I saved your life. Did you miss the part of those vlogs where I admitted to risking my life for your safety?"

A short laugh of disbelief escapes her mouth. "I didn't ask to become your guinea pig."

"And I didn't ask to become President Ashford's personal scientific slave, but look at us now."

They glare at each other for a long moment. What was I expecting— hugs and kisses? Of course she's mad at her for what happened. She has every right to be. Yet, Dad did what had to be done. Is she so blind that she can't see that? The familiarity they once had must've been lost in the eleven-year gap.

"None of this matters," I interrupt. Ollie had just turned to argue with Dad. The three of them turn towards me, now, though. Dad's face softens, probably from seeing the tears welling up in my eyes. "It doesn't matter who's responsible. I'm glad you saved me, but you're three weeks too late."

Mandy covers her mouth with her hand and searches the faces around her. No one else says anything, though. Stephen puts a giant hand on my shoulder, and the pressure relieves a little of the anxiety I feel swelling in me.

"Isaac is dead, and that is entirely your fault." I meet Ollie's eyes, attempting to transfer that guilt to her. Anything to get it off me. She opens her mouth, but Dad clears his throat across the room. "Please don't scold me right now," I say, looking at him.

"I wasn't going to." He kneels down in front of me, groaning the whole way. "You're completely justified in being angry at all of us." Mandy scoffs at that. Dad ignores her. "You went through Hell in there. I saw that when I was finally allowed to visit. They didn't come to save you, and they're both responsible for sending you."

He pauses and looks back at Ollie. She sighs but stands and sits beside me in another chair.

"You don't know all of our side of the story," she says softly. Her hands fold like paper in her lap. "We all have some explaining to do, if you'll allow it."

I swallow a knot and nod. "Go ahead."

"We didn't know," Mandy says after a long silence. "How were we supposed to? Clare and Stephen were trapped inside The Wall when you didn't come back for them. Jacob managed to get them out, but by then, you were already locked up in solitary. We came as soon as we could."

I shake my head at her. "That doesn't make you any less responsible for sending me in the first place."

"I know, and that wasn't the plan." She looks towards Ollie.

"Yeah, that one's on me. After the fire, I saw how scared and confused everyone was, and I made a split-second decision. I didn't consult anyone else, when I definitely should have. I take full responsibility for that."

They share another look and then turn towards me. Are they seeking forgiveness? Sure, everything they're saying makes sense, but I'm not ready for that. I'm still fuming.

But the energy's gone. I sink into my seat, tired of fighting back.

Ollie reaches for my shoulder, and my body goes rigid. "We really are sorry, Jay. We never meant for any of this to happen. Not to you or Isaac."

Dad clears his throat behind her, making us all jump. Ollie ignores him.

"I know it's impossible to forgive me now, but I hope that one day you can. Isaac was an amazing person. I'm so sorry—"

Dad clears his throat again. Mandy snaps her head towards him. "If you have something to say, just do it, Jacob."

"I've not missed your temper at all," he replies. She rolls her eyes and turns away from all of us. Dad turns to me.

"They're leaving out the ending. The part where we've been meeting outside The Wall for almost a week." He takes my hand. "Sneaking so many people in takes a lot of planning. We had to wait for your sentencing, and I had to be very careful not to raise any suspicions. They weren't the only reason I was leaving the compound, though."

I sit up in my seat, knitting my eyebrows together. Mandy and Ollie mirror my surprise. This is the first time they're hearing about Dad's secret.

"When I came to see you, what did you ask me? Do you remember?"

I nod. "Isaac. I asked you what they had done with him."

"And I said that they burned him, right?" The room falls so quiet that one can hear the building creaking around them. The whirring of the small computer behind the desk and my dad's wheezing breaths fill the empty spaces.

"Yes, but I don't understand where this is going."

Dad takes a deep breath and squeezes my hand. His pulses drums in the places where our fingers meet. "I lied." My breath catches in my throat, and I hold it as he continues. "They did bring him to me; that much is true. I didn't send him off for disposal, though."

I suck in air. "Dad, what did you do with Isaac?" I squeeze his hand with renewed vigor. That flame of hope rekindles, and my face heats up. When he doesn't answer, I repeat the question again— louder, a yell almost.

"I took him outside The Wall." He holds eye contact with me, even though I'm breathing like I've just ran up a dozen flights of stairs. "I knew I owed you for everything I've done wrong. For Hartley and your mother. For the lies. I thought that I might be able to save him, and maybe, just maybe you wouldn't hate me for the decisions I had to make."

Tears run down my cheeks, ice sliding against my fiery face.

"Dad. What did you do with Isaac?"

He leans forward and grips my cheek with his other hand. "I saved his life, baby girl," he whispers, eyes pleading.

I fear of passing out once again, I throw myself forward into Dad. He stumbles back against the impact but wraps his arms around me anyway. I bury my face into his neck and gulp down monstrous breaths of air.

He's alive.

"Thank you," I manage to spit out. Dad rocks me back and forth as I start to sob, repeating those two words over and over again.

My Isaac is alive.