Chapter 333

Sebastian Ashford blinked in surprise when he spotted Isabella Sinclair. "Ms. Sinclair?"

Isabella gave a polite nod. "Hello, Mr. Ashford."

His lips curved into a smile. "Are you stationed here now?"

She shook her head. "No, my mentor requested my assistance with something."

That made him pause.

Very few had the clearance to bring in external personnel.

Then it clicked—her close ties to Nathaniel Graves, despite their strictly professional relationship.

His eyes widened slightly. "Your mentor... is Frederick Aldridge?"

"Yes," she confirmed with a faint nod.

So she really was one of Frederick's protégés, just like Nathaniel.

The realization hit him like a delayed shockwave.

If she was Frederick's student, suddenly everything made sense.

Why Nathaniel had publicly credited her for YodaVision's breakthrough at the gala.

Why his father had watched her so intently—not just at his grandfather's exhibition, but also during Dominic Fairchild's forum.

His father must have known all along.

But being Frederick's student alone wouldn't warrant that level of scrutiny.

Unless—

Unless those groundbreaking YodaVision projects were hers.

The possibility struck him like lightning.

Sebastian stared at her, momentarily speechless.

Isabella was quiet, composed, never drawing attention to herself. He'd never have guessed someone so unassuming could be behind such revolutionary work.

They found seats in the cafeteria.

"How long will you be on base?" Sebastian asked.

"Not sure. Depends on my mentor."

A brief silence. Then she added, "Feels like ages since we last met outside work. Is training keeping you that busy?"

Sebastian gave a wry smile. "Pilots don't exactly get vacations."

His break was short. After a quick exchange, he excused himself for duty.

Two days later, he saw her again during an AI-human combat drill.

Live simulation—human pilots against AI-controlled jets.

Once data was collected, Isabella and the research team dove into analysis, tweaking algorithms based on combat dynamics.

When Sebastian entered the lab, she was deep in focus, barely noticing him.

Only when he approached did she glance up, offering a polite nod before returning to her screen without pause.

Isabella stayed nearly ten days before leaving.

She departed the base under cover of night, arriving home at dawn.

When she powered on her phone, twenty missed calls lit up the screen.

Kieran Blackwood. Julian Montgomery. Sophia Whitmore. Even Alexander Whitmore had tried reaching her.

She could guess why Sophia and Alexander called.

But Kieran had called first—and most frequently.

So she dialed him back.

He answered instantly. "Finally done?"

"Yes," she said. "Was there an issue? Is it resolved?"

"There was. Everything's handled now."

Ten days ago, he'd shown up at the theater and found her missing. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

When she didn't appear at work Monday, he'd feared the worst.

He'd gone straight to Nathaniel, who assured him it was a family matter.

Now, hearing her voice, he finally relaxed.