Maya's POV
I didn't look at the phone.
I looked at Clara.
"Put it down," I said.
Clara's hand stayed up. Isabella's face on the screen was patient and composed in the way of someone who'd arranged furniture and was waiting to see if the guests would sit where she'd intended.
"Maya," Isabella said. "You've been remarkably resilient through all of this. I want you to know I respect that."
"I'm not talking to you," I said. Still looking at Clara. "Put the phone down, or we leave, and you lose the only chance you have to say anything directly to either of us."
Something shifted in Clara's expression. She hadn't expected to be addressed as a separate entity from Isabella. She'd expected me to engage with the screen and put Isabella in the center of the room.
I watched her calculate.
Th
