The "Fine," echoes in her mind as she holds the phone in her hand. Katherine's moved outside, for the privacy, and maybe for her own benefit. Damian knows all her squishy parts and met her with most of her dark parts intact, but there is a side to her he never saw. The ruthless vampire always ten steps ahead. The one who would betray someone at the top of a hat if they can get her the better deal.
Isobel knows her better. Not for longer, not anymore, but it felt like it, didn't it.
One final sigh and she dials the number that dialed Damian.
"He never gave his name. You've trained him well," Isobel says, having taken a seat at one of the most impractical benches in the Apple store.
"So, it's true," Katherine says, taking a few more steps away from the front door of her building. Damian can be emotional support from in the penthouse. She'll return to him after she decides what this even is. Who's calling her.
"Against all the odds and with no help from Klaus, I think," Isobel says, watching Adrienne at one of the tables.
"This wasn't Klaus," she affirms.
"No, I realized that." She'll get back to the person she appeared beside. Or, she won't. That's yet to be determined. "Phones are everything, now, did you know that?"
"Everything you need in one place, but can it tuck you in at night," Katherine deadpans.
"We've never had a problem finding someone who'll tuck us in at night, Katherine. Case in point, your male caller." Well, answerer, she'd correct.
"He's not up for discussion, yet." If there is a yet. She approaches the fountian, crossing the roundabout.
"Are you near water?"
Behind Isobel, someone from the Genius bar calls for the next customer.
"Are you in an Apple store?"
"Well, I can't possibly do anything without a phone, can I? That's what they'd have me believe," she says, looking back to her right. "But, I didn't call you to make technical commentary."
"It's been a long time."
"Didn't I say that?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" Katherine asks, stepping a heel up on the edge of the fountain. She tests her balance as she hoists herself up completely, clacking in a circle.
"Taking Elena to the cemetery. It was Klaus."
"I know," she says, opening that old wound.
"I really would have helped you, though, not at my daughter's expense," Isobel briefly explains. "He got to me. Everything I did was because of him. No doubt his form of revenge on you, or perhaps Elena for shirking him for so long..." She doesn't know, does she. "All I know, is that I'm alive in an Apple store. And a man answered your phone."
"His name is Damian," she finally says.
"Like The Omen."
"Well, he does have a devilish side," she coos. But, she changes the subject before she can go in more detail. "Things aren't the same, Isobel."
"I gathered that, seeing as it's been over thirty years. I have questions."
"I might have answers."
"So cagey. I really did teach you well."
"I taught you, but, you didn't need the lesson, did you. You had things handled. Better than I did after I first turned," Katherine says, sweeping a foot down over the side.
"Is that a compliment?"
"Borderline," she admits.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"A lot. Are you curious about Elena?"
Isobel doesn't have an answer for that. She was the monumental disappointment. Lost all trust in her, even if she was about to betay her, and then immolated herself in front of her.
"Elena doesn't need me complicating her life right now, not when I'm just getting my bearings."
"What would you say if I told you, you weren't the most complicated part of Elena's life? That, maybe hearing from your wouldn't destroy her. Or, if you did track her down, the door might not be completely slammed in your face."
"I would ask you why you even care."
"I don't," she feigns. She steps down, sitting herself on the edge of the fountain.
"You used to be such a good liar."
"You wanted me to call you back," Katherine says.
"I thought knowing Klaus was behind what I did, maybe there'd be water under this bridge."
"There is," she replies, switching her phone to the other ear.
"So, you were calling about Elena."
"Among other things," she says. "You called, I called back. It's what we do."
"I should go," Isobel says, getting to her feet, smoothing out her new dress. "This was fun," she says into the receiver as she looks down at her phone. She ends the call. Thirty-odd years not on this Earth, she still knows Katherine better than she thinks.
"Is --" The line goes dead. Kind of like their friendship. Maybe it would still be did had Katherine told her. She's human now. No longer immortal. Her daughter did that. But, now isn't the time.
"I have a daughter," Katherine says, when Isobel answers the call she places. She's back inside, but in the lobby now. It's not a minute later. Isobel is one person who she would have wanted Nadia to meet. If things had been different. "Had", she emphasizes, "a daughter."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because, when she finally found me, it ended up being too late. For more reasons than I'm going to tell you, because I don't owe you anything. It may not have been you doing it, but you sold me out to Klaus. We should have known better than to try to have you within sniffing's distance of anyone in league with him. But, I should have known better than to think you'd sell Elena out in the end. Without Klaus in your ear."
Isobel doesn't say anything.
"So, that's why. You aren't alone. There are others like you who've returned. And, as soon as I get any answers about what that means, if anything, I'll tell you. But, in the meantime, your daughter's the type to answer an unknown call." She's a doctor, she's a bleeding heart, and now she's dating a doctor. "If you want her to know you're among the ranks."
Among the ranks. She considers this.
"I didn't wake up alone. A witch named Adrienne. From the 1600's. Covered in blood. She gave me the means to leave before sundown."
"You didn't --"
"I ripped it from my neck. I was done." Free, technically. "I have new lapis and a new friend."
"Damian isn't just a friend," Katherine says. "We're together. Actually. Not like Mason."
"Mason," Isobel says, thinking back, wistful.
"Do you want --"
"--Elena's number. Sure. Maybe it will come in handy." She half shrugs, a smile peeking from behind the phone she tilts at an angle.
"There's one more thing."
"Oh, Katherine, there are an endless number of things. Thirty years, Katherine."
"Have you ever heard of the cure?"
"The myth, the legend."
"The real thing. It's a long story I won't go into because it's been thirty years, but, I'm no longer a vampire, Isobel. I'm human. I have been for a long time. About over a year after we saw each other last."
"After I sold you out to Klaus," she says. "Because?"
"No," she says behind her smirk. "The Katherine then would just be easier to find and squash. It wasn't my choice. And, if I were being honest with myself, I had it coming. I went after someone. You remember pettiness."
"Vividly."
"Alaric is remarried. He has children. He's a happy alcoholic and the head of a school. Elena's a doctor. Dating--"
"Stop." Katherine closes her mouth. "I don't have ties to these people anymore, Katherine. Don't try. You're changing the subject. And, truthfully, I don't care about why you're human. That your human. Although, I liked you as a vampire. I guess now you'll die."
"Eventually, we all will."
"We all did, didn't we."
Katherine continues to stay silent.
"If I have questions, I'll ask. But, don't push me to feel things I don't. You know who I am, Katherine. I won't try and change you if you don't," she says behind a smile. Not that it's a matter of change. She hasn't done or decided anything drastic. It's clear her emotions were on the last time Elena saw her and she has no reason to turn them off again. But, if Katherine goes deep enough, or, she won't like what either of them find.
"Fine," Katherine says, bookending her conversations today. "But, you should know, if you start getting nostalgic. I don't want to be a vampire again." She lies. Quickly, she adds, "And even if I did, it's impossible."
"Fine," Isobel repeats. "Is that all."
"That's all."
Before she hangs up, she has one more question.
"What was her name?"
"Nadia," Katherine says with her Bulgarian lilt.
"Goodbye, Katherine," she says, again. Things have been left on a different note. She holds the phone against her mouth. Smiling at her friend. There are still many unanswered questions and the question of why Katherine's pettiness led to her being cured. But, it doesn't involve Isobel and it's only curiosity that niggles at the edges of the phone call she just had. Looking down at her phone, she saves Katherine's number.
[By the time she finishes her phone calls, he has their things packed and by the door, ready to go. He's not sure what to make of Katherine's half of the conversation, and he was trying not to eavesdrop, but he did hear his name at certain points, so clearly he was a topic of conversation.
Normally, I get a good read on her, but it being over the phone, as good as it could go. She has no relationship with Elena, to speak of, which was partially my doing.
( There are many things she did as a vampire she's absolved herself of. )
But, I'm not rushing to call my descendant just to keep our peace treaty intact. You are right. This isn't about me.
[He nods, gathering their things, and off they head down to the car to head out. He'll fill her in on what he knows on the way and while it will move out of town by the time they get there, there's plenty of leads for them to follow it to Michigan.
And somewhere along the way, "Caroline" lights up on Katherine's phone screen.]
( Before they get the stuff down to their car, Caroline's name lights up. Giving her boyfriend a look, except neither of them have called anyone since, she steps a few feet away. The picture of innocence. )
Caroline? I'd ask what Elena got herself into again, but we're all on the same group text.
We are, which is why I'm hoping you'll forgive me if I don't do the usual beating around the bush.
[Caroline is trying to do this kindly, because in the time between Stiles asking her to do this and actually dialing her phone she realizes that the list of dead people that Caroline knew that Katherine would want to protect is very short.]
The returned person you mentioned in the group chat. Is it Nadia?
No, actually, I assumed you were doing it because the last time we were around your daughter we got her killed.
[There were finer details, and it was all a mess but at the end of the day, Tyler bit Nadia and she died. She wouldn't blame Katherine for wanting to keep that to herself.]
Honestly, I wouldn't be calling you at all, but the detectives are trying to figure out what's going on and need information so they wanted to see if we could find out who they were and where they landed when they woke up.
[Phones are miraculous things, truly. So much information at your finger tips, if only you know how to start. She's currently weighing her options on how much she wants to know.
She may google some familiar last names later and see what happens. It will be a horror show, but curiosity gets the better of most of us.
Once the lesson is done, she moves to join Isobel near the door, tipping her head to the side curiously when she sees that she was speaking to someone.]
( Everything is different, but it would be this many years into the future. They are much different than what Adrienne remembers. She smiles to indicate everything is alright enough, for now, bringing her phone down. She doesn't know Adrienne well enough to go into any of it, and the gall that Katherine had to even mention Elena, as she is one of the reasons Elena probably doesn't want to hear from her.
But, Elena is alive. And with a Salvatore? She hopes not. But, that should not be what's on her mind. Katherine was first. John, she'll look up next. If only because, it's John. He's always been devoted. )
Well. I now know how to make calls and send messages - if I had anyone to actually call or message.
[Isobel, perhaps, but she's right next to her. Seems pointless to test her new prowess right now.]
What's next? Food?
[She could eat, probably, now that she's feeling a little steadier on her feet, and she won't judge if Isobel wants to find someone for a bite herself.]
How would you like to test your newfound knowledge of the world wide internet?
( through google and some helpful websites, isobel directs them to a very nice foreclosure on the upper east side, a beautiful condominimum, with an easily compellable doorman and an address they can send their things to, temporarily.
isobel has an old service she used and secures herself a nice vintner in a bottle, while adrienne flexes her new door dashing capabilities.
she makes a list of priorities and strategizes with her new friend. they need indispensible people in their contacts. friends get you farther in life and only so many can be compelled. )
[At first, she instinctively wants to answer what she always answers. But then she pauses, because it isn't really, is it? Her illegitimacy claws at her and she doesn't really have the right to the name she was deceived into believing was hers.
But what should she say in return? DeBrande? A man who was always kind to her (now she knows why) but she barely knows? That doesn't feel like hers anymore than her own name now does.
And then she realizes she's taking too long to supply a simple name so she sticks with the one thing she does know is hers: her mother's maiden name. That feels safe enough for now.]
Marchant.
[It feels bitter as soon as she says it, and she takes a sip of her own wine to try and wash it out. Claiming the name of the woman who killed her doesn't feel much better either.]
I'm willing to bet that we can't just "Google" the Colony and have the information show up on the internet, but if we ask around to other local covens they might be able to at least point me to a lawyer or outside point of contact.
[Adrienne sighs before nodding. She pulls out her phone and stares at the search box for a moment. She tries to think of where to first begin, and she starts with the family she knows best.
Melraux.
It's fairly sterile - Jaqueline keeps her family's digital footprint fairly sparse. But Max needs to be online for business reasons, so as she scrolls through the options and stumbles onto social media, she finds him. She doesn't have to dig too deeply to know that he's a descendant of her mother.
( Isobel takes the phone in hand, impressed with how quick her new friend has found someone. She looks at the screen first, then her finger swipes up, passing different - articles? Captions? And carefully curated pictures. )
Most of these pictures, the captions under them are labelled. Inner Harbor. Annapolis. And this restaurant. I believe he lives in or does business in Baltimore.
( She stops on a photo. )
Her. I know her.
( Donna Paulsen looks as put together as she always does. She's even still at the same firm, though, they've gone through a few different names, it seems.
She checks the time and holds the phone back out. )
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everyonelives2025-10-11 07:15 am
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Isobel knows her better. Not for longer, not anymore, but it felt like it, didn't it.
One final sigh and she dials the number that dialed Damian.
"He never gave his name. You've trained him well," Isobel says, having taken a seat at one of the most impractical benches in the Apple store.
"So, it's true," Katherine says, taking a few more steps away from the front door of her building. Damian can be emotional support from in the penthouse. She'll return to him after she decides what this even is. Who's calling her.
"Against all the odds and with no help from Klaus, I think," Isobel says, watching Adrienne at one of the tables.
"This wasn't Klaus," she affirms.
"No, I realized that." She'll get back to the person she appeared beside. Or, she won't. That's yet to be determined. "Phones are everything, now, did you know that?"
"Everything you need in one place, but can it tuck you in at night," Katherine deadpans.
"We've never had a problem finding someone who'll tuck us in at night, Katherine. Case in point, your male caller." Well, answerer, she'd correct.
"He's not up for discussion, yet." If there is a yet. She approaches the fountian, crossing the roundabout.
"Are you near water?"
Behind Isobel, someone from the Genius bar calls for the next customer.
"Are you in an Apple store?"
"Well, I can't possibly do anything without a phone, can I? That's what they'd have me believe," she says, looking back to her right. "But, I didn't call you to make technical commentary."
"It's been a long time."
"Didn't I say that?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" Katherine asks, stepping a heel up on the edge of the fountain. She tests her balance as she hoists herself up completely, clacking in a circle.
"Taking Elena to the cemetery. It was Klaus."
"I know," she says, opening that old wound.
"I really would have helped you, though, not at my daughter's expense," Isobel briefly explains. "He got to me. Everything I did was because of him. No doubt his form of revenge on you, or perhaps Elena for shirking him for so long..." She doesn't know, does she. "All I know, is that I'm alive in an Apple store. And a man answered your phone."
"His name is Damian," she finally says.
"Like The Omen."
"Well, he does have a devilish side," she coos. But, she changes the subject before she can go in more detail. "Things aren't the same, Isobel."
"I gathered that, seeing as it's been over thirty years. I have questions."
"I might have answers."
"So cagey. I really did teach you well."
"I taught you, but, you didn't need the lesson, did you. You had things handled. Better than I did after I first turned," Katherine says, sweeping a foot down over the side.
"Is that a compliment?"
"Borderline," she admits.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"A lot. Are you curious about Elena?"
Isobel doesn't have an answer for that. She was the monumental disappointment. Lost all trust in her, even if she was about to betay her, and then immolated herself in front of her.
"Elena doesn't need me complicating her life right now, not when I'm just getting my bearings."
"What would you say if I told you, you weren't the most complicated part of Elena's life? That, maybe hearing from your wouldn't destroy her. Or, if you did track her down, the door might not be completely slammed in your face."
"I would ask you why you even care."
"I don't," she feigns. She steps down, sitting herself on the edge of the fountain.
"You used to be such a good liar."
"You wanted me to call you back," Katherine says.
"I thought knowing Klaus was behind what I did, maybe there'd be water under this bridge."
"There is," she replies, switching her phone to the other ear.
"So, you were calling about Elena."
"Among other things," she says. "You called, I called back. It's what we do."
"I should go," Isobel says, getting to her feet, smoothing out her new dress. "This was fun," she says into the receiver as she looks down at her phone. She ends the call. Thirty-odd years not on this Earth, she still knows Katherine better than she thinks.
"Is --" The line goes dead. Kind of like their friendship. Maybe it would still be did had Katherine told her. She's human now. No longer immortal. Her daughter did that. But, now isn't the time.
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"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because, when she finally found me, it ended up being too late. For more reasons than I'm going to tell you, because I don't owe you anything. It may not have been you doing it, but you sold me out to Klaus. We should have known better than to try to have you within sniffing's distance of anyone in league with him. But, I should have known better than to think you'd sell Elena out in the end. Without Klaus in your ear."
Isobel doesn't say anything.
"So, that's why. You aren't alone. There are others like you who've returned. And, as soon as I get any answers about what that means, if anything, I'll tell you. But, in the meantime, your daughter's the type to answer an unknown call." She's a doctor, she's a bleeding heart, and now she's dating a doctor. "If you want her to know you're among the ranks."
Among the ranks. She considers this.
"I didn't wake up alone. A witch named Adrienne. From the 1600's. Covered in blood. She gave me the means to leave before sundown."
"You didn't --"
"I ripped it from my neck. I was done." Free, technically. "I have new lapis and a new friend."
"Damian isn't just a friend," Katherine says. "We're together. Actually. Not like Mason."
"Mason," Isobel says, thinking back, wistful.
"Do you want --"
"--Elena's number. Sure. Maybe it will come in handy." She half shrugs, a smile peeking from behind the phone she tilts at an angle.
"There's one more thing."
"Oh, Katherine, there are an endless number of things. Thirty years, Katherine."
"Have you ever heard of the cure?"
"The myth, the legend."
"The real thing. It's a long story I won't go into because it's been thirty years, but, I'm no longer a vampire, Isobel. I'm human. I have been for a long time. About over a year after we saw each other last."
"After I sold you out to Klaus," she says. "Because?"
"No," she says behind her smirk. "The Katherine then would just be easier to find and squash. It wasn't my choice. And, if I were being honest with myself, I had it coming. I went after someone. You remember pettiness."
"Vividly."
"Alaric is remarried. He has children. He's a happy alcoholic and the head of a school. Elena's a doctor. Dating--"
"Stop." Katherine closes her mouth. "I don't have ties to these people anymore, Katherine. Don't try. You're changing the subject. And, truthfully, I don't care about why you're human. That your human. Although, I liked you as a vampire. I guess now you'll die."
"Eventually, we all will."
"We all did, didn't we."
Katherine continues to stay silent.
"If I have questions, I'll ask. But, don't push me to feel things I don't. You know who I am, Katherine. I won't try and change you if you don't," she says behind a smile. Not that it's a matter of change. She hasn't done or decided anything drastic. It's clear her emotions were on the last time Elena saw her and she has no reason to turn them off again. But, if Katherine goes deep enough, or, she won't like what either of them find.
"Fine," Katherine says, bookending her conversations today. "But, you should know, if you start getting nostalgic. I don't want to be a vampire again." She lies. Quickly, she adds, "And even if I did, it's impossible."
"Fine," Isobel repeats. "Is that all."
"That's all."
Before she hangs up, she has one more question.
"What was her name?"
"Nadia," Katherine says with her Bulgarian lilt.
"Goodbye, Katherine," she says, again. Things have been left on a different note. She holds the phone against her mouth. Smiling at her friend. There are still many unanswered questions and the question of why Katherine's pettiness led to her being cured. But, it doesn't involve Isobel and it's only curiosity that niggles at the edges of the phone call she just had. Looking down at her phone, she saves Katherine's number.
One tie.
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Still, he glances over once she comes out.]
How'd it go?
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( There are many things she did as a vampire she's absolved herself of. )
But, I'm not rushing to call my descendant just to keep our peace treaty intact. You are right. This isn't about me.
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Alright. So are we still hitting the road?
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( And something to kill. )
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[He has a feeling it's related to a cursed object of some kind, but he won't be able to say for sure until he gets a closer look at the bodies.]
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( It will help with this sudden restless energy she has. She doesn't know what she's going to do about Isobel, but for now, she has a distraction. )
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And somewhere along the way, "Caroline" lights up on Katherine's phone screen.]
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Caroline? I'd ask what Elena got herself into again, but we're all on the same group text.
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[Caroline is trying to do this kindly, because in the time between Stiles asking her to do this and actually dialing her phone she realizes that the list of dead people that Caroline knew that Katherine would want to protect is very short.]
The returned person you mentioned in the group chat. Is it Nadia?
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( sorry, but you do need to get to it.
her eyes narrow, however, as something inside her heart pangs. )
No, it's not Nadia. You're calling me because I'm keeping who came back close to the vest, and you assume I'm doing it selfishly. Shocker.
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[There were finer details, and it was all a mess but at the end of the day, Tyler bit Nadia and she died. She wouldn't blame Katherine for wanting to keep that to herself.]
Honestly, I wouldn't be calling you at all, but the detectives are trying to figure out what's going on and need information so they wanted to see if we could find out who they were and where they landed when they woke up.
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She may google some familiar last names later and see what happens. It will be a horror show, but curiosity gets the better of most of us.
Once the lesson is done, she moves to join Isobel near the door, tipping her head to the side curiously when she sees that she was speaking to someone.]
Everything alright?
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But, Elena is alive. And with a Salvatore? She hopes not. But, that should not be what's on her mind. Katherine was first. John, she'll look up next. If only because, it's John. He's always been devoted. )
Everything is alright. How did your class go?
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[Isobel, perhaps, but she's right next to her. Seems pointless to test her new prowess right now.]
What's next? Food?
[She could eat, probably, now that she's feeling a little steadier on her feet, and she won't judge if Isobel wants to find someone for a bite herself.]
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( That does sound right, though. )
How would you like to test your newfound knowledge of the world wide internet?
( through google and some helpful websites, isobel directs them to a very nice foreclosure on the upper east side, a beautiful condominimum, with an easily compellable doorman and an address they can send their things to, temporarily.
isobel has an old service she used and secures herself a nice vintner in a bottle, while adrienne flexes her new door dashing capabilities.
she makes a list of priorities and strategizes with her new friend. they need indispensible people in their contacts. friends get you farther in life and only so many can be compelled. )
I don't think I ever asked your last name.
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But what should she say in return? DeBrande? A man who was always kind to her (now she knows why) but she barely knows? That doesn't feel like hers anymore than her own name now does.
And then she realizes she's taking too long to supply a simple name so she sticks with the one thing she does know is hers: her mother's maiden name. That feels safe enough for now.]
Marchant.
[It feels bitter as soon as she says it, and she takes a sip of her own wine to try and wash it out. Claiming the name of the woman who killed her doesn't feel much better either.]
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We could try to find someone further down your family line.
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[She holds up the phone.]
I'm willing to bet that we can't just "Google" the Colony and have the information show up on the internet, but if we ask around to other local covens they might be able to at least point me to a lawyer or outside point of contact.
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( Maybe they're a company now. )
Only one way to find out.
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Melraux.
It's fairly sterile - Jaqueline keeps her family's digital footprint fairly sparse. But Max needs to be online for business reasons, so as she scrolls through the options and stumbles onto social media, she finds him. She doesn't have to dig too deeply to know that he's a descendant of her mother.
It's all there in his face.]
Him.
[She passes it to Isobel.]
He's probably one of them.
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Most of these pictures, the captions under them are labelled. Inner Harbor. Annapolis. And this restaurant. I believe he lives in or does business in Baltimore.
( She stops on a photo. )
Her. I know her.
( Donna Paulsen looks as put together as she always does. She's even still at the same firm, though, they've gone through a few different names, it seems.
She checks the time and holds the phone back out. )
I think we should take a lunch meeting.
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Who is she?
[And why is she important to take a meeting with. She wants to know as much as possible on her way in.]
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