Chapter 377

Sunday was Mother's Day.

Sophia was driven to the Sinclair residence on Saturday by Alexander's chauffeur.

Her Mother's Day gift for Isabella was a handmade card. In careful cursive, she'd written: "Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Love you." Just six simple words.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sophia beamed. "The teacher said I could ask Dad for help, but he's been swamped with work. I did everything myself - the design, the drawings, even gluing these tiny hearts."

It had been months since Isabella last saw Sophia's schoolwork. The girl's handwriting had improved remarkably.

Holding the card, Isabella suddenly remembered last year's incident. She'd flown all the way to Salzburg to celebrate her birthday with Sophia and Alexander, only to find her daughter polishing a bracelet for Victoria Kensington.

According to Sophia, that bracelet had been a joint project with Alexander.

Isabella's expression remained neutral despite the memory.

She closed the card gently. "It's lovely. Thank you."

The next day, Isabella received a call from Frederick Aldridge. That evening, she returned to the military base.

When Sebastian Ashford entered the data center, he stopped abruptly at the sight of Isabella working intensely.

She didn't notice him at first.

Only when she reached for her water glass did she spot Sebastian standing across the room, watching her.

A brief nod. Then back to work.

Sebastian had come for a specific purpose.

After concluding his meeting, he noticed Isabella still at her station and approached.

"It's late. Aren't you going to eat?"

Isabella looked up. "Soon."

Sebastian nodded and left her to her work.

Later, exiting the data center, Isabella found Sebastian waiting outside. Clearly, he'd been standing there for some time.

Hearing footsteps, he turned. "Finished? Heading to the mess hall?"

"Yes. You?"

"Care to join me?"

Isabella paused, realizing he'd waited for her. Probably didn't want to interrupt her work earlier.

Sebastian met her gaze. "You must have seen the footage from my mission last week. In a way, you saved my life."

Every pilot had unique flight patterns - unconscious habits formed through experience.

In this age of advanced AI, such patterns could be digitized and exploited by enemies.

Based on his combat history and enemy data, Isabella's system had flagged his intended maneuver as predictable. It provided counterstrategies, accurately predicting enemy positions and suggesting optimal attack vectors.

That system's guidance had kept him alive.

Isabella understood immediately. "Providing that support is our job. Besides, you kept your cool and made the right call. You saved yourself."

Perhaps it was her duty, but since that mission, Sebastian had heard nothing but praise for Isabella throughout the base - particularly about her data analysis skills and tactical intuition.

Just as Sebastian was about to respond, Frederick approached.

"Come with me," he said to Isabella.