𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣: 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙏𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙄𝙨 ~

With that confirmation, Diego started dragging Sloane back to the lobby, but before he stepped out of the door, he bumped into Luther, who wedged himself between the doorframe so he couldn't get past. "That's enough, Diego. Let her go," Luther instructed. "What? Are you kidding me?" The Kraken scoffed. "She's hurt! Just let her go!" Astrid slowly approached him. "Have you two gone mad or something? She is the enemy!"

Hearing Diego describe her lover in such a way awoke one of the darkest parts of Astrid. She may have been the conqueror of shadows, but if someone were to cross her the wrong way, let's just say they were guaranteed to have nightmares. "Drop the knife, Diego. Or I swear to god... I WILL BREAK YOU!" Astrid's usually soft voice lowered a few octaves, her growl sounding demonic, her eyes turning completely black.

"Are you going to break me too, Astrid?" A voice came from behind her. Astrid quickly snapped out of it, turning around to see Allison looking at her with concern and continued suspicion. There was no denying it now. It was clear to the Umbrellas that Astrid cared for Sloane. "Just let me talk to her," Astrid glanced at her three siblings. "Trust me, she's gonna talk," Allison squinted at the Sparrow. Sloane looked to Astrid, terrified by what her sister meant by that.

"It's going to be okay," Astrid assured, reaching out to her. She would deal with her siblings later, but at that moment, she would not rest until Sloane no longer had a knife to her neck. Diego let her go, but not before Sloane's hands were bound against one of the tiled pillars. "Not so tight," Astrid whispered to Luther as he tied the two ends of the white cloth together. "I'm on your side, Trid. We'll help her out after this," he whispered back.

The Shadow Girl nodded appreciatively, and as they stepped a few feet back, Diego and Allison sat on the edge of one of the tubs, looking at each other with twin glares. "I heard a rumor..." Allison began. "Allison, don't!" Luther spoke up but the rumoring continued. "You're gonna tell me the truth," Sloane's eyes rolled into the back of her head. Astrid and Luther watched with nervousness as she slightly jerked against her restraints, but her eyes went back to normal as the rumoring continued.

"Where is the briefcase?" Allison questioned. Sloane stayed silent, her head twitching as she glared at Allison, further stirring her anger. "Tell me, where is it?" Allison repeated. But once again, Sloane's lips remained tightly sealed. Allison walked closer to her, the repetitiveness of her words followed by clenched teeth and a low snarl. "I DON'T KNOW!" Sloane shouted. "Stop this!" Astrid tried wrapping her arms protectively around Sloane, but Allison whipped around, grabbed her wrists, and pushed her back in Luther's direction. "We left it in your house, and it is our only way out of this! WHERE IS IT?!" Allison shrieked, Sloane's body shaking even more violently than before.

It wasn't until Luther finally pulled her away that Sloane was free from the interrogation. Astrid quickly went to her side, making sure that she was okay. But Sloane didn't say a word to her, still believing that Astrid and her family set this up as an ambush. "You better ask yourself which side you're on, Ast," Diego tucked his blade into one of the holsters. "Get out of here, Diego! Nobody needs you here!" Astrid snapped. Diego charged towards her, but again, Luther stopped him from laying a hand on her.

"All of you, just get out!" Allison yelled, silencing everyone. "She doesn't leave your sight, Astrid. You got that?" The Shadow Girl nodded as she and Luther helped Sloane to her feet, taking her out of the spa to get her all cleaned up. "Here, I'll grab some ice. Why don't you take her to my room, and you two can sort this out?" Luther offered. "Okay. And hey, Luther?" The Ape-man stopped in his tracks. "Thank you," Astrid smiled.