{"id":3801,"date":"2026-08-21T22:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T22:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=3801"},"modified":"2026-08-21T22:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T22:39:09","slug":"part-10-my-husband-accidentally-transferred-3850-to-me-with-a-note-that-read-for-valeries-baby-shower-and-our-baby-i-was-seven-months-pregnant-my-belly-hard-from-cryin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=3801","title":{"rendered":"PART 10: My husband accidentally transferred $3,850 to me with a note that read: \u201cFor Valerie\u2019s baby shower and our baby.\u201d I was seven months pregnant, my belly hard from crying so much, and my credit card maxed out because he swore that \u201cthe company was struggling.\u201d That night, I didn\u2019t scream. I just took a screenshot\u2026 and started counting every lie as if they were coins on a table."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\u201cHow Alice Thinks\u201d
\nDavid didn\u2019t answer immediately.
\nHe stood near the apartment window staring down at the city like he was trying to reconstruct his entire life from memory.
\nThen finally:
\n\u201cMy mother never attacks the center first.\u201d
\nMaya stayed silent.
\nListening carefully.
\nBecause emotional people survive chaos.
\nStrategic people survive systems.
\nAnd Maya was finally learning the difference.
\nDavid turned slowly toward her.
\n\u201cShe isolates stability.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d
\n\u201cIt means she removes support quietly before escalation.\u201d
\nThe room stayed silent while he continued.
\n\u201cShe\u2019ll pressure schools.\u201d
\n\u201cFriends.\u201d
\n\u201cLawyers.\u201d
\n\u201cDoctors.\u201d
\nThen softly:
\n\u201cShe makes people step away from you voluntarily.\u201d
\nMaya felt cold spread through her chest.
\nBecause that already sounded familiar.
\nTwo friends had suddenly stopped returning messages last week.
\nLucy\u2019s school administrator sounded strangely distant during the morning phone call.
\nEven Maya\u2019s former therapist suddenly canceled their next appointment unexpectedly.
\nNo.
\nNo no\u2014
\nDavid saw realization hit her face.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s already doing it.\u201d
\nHarris cursed quietly under his breath.
\nMaya whispered:
\n\u201cShe\u2019s isolating me.\u201d
\nDavid nodded once.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s phase one.\u201d
\nThe phrase sounded horrifyingly practiced.
\nBecause it was.
\nHe grew up inside this system.
\nThen David sat slowly across from Maya.
\nFor the first time since this nightmare began\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

he looked less like a husband defending himself and more like a survivor describing captivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe studies emotional thresholds.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Maya frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

David exhaled slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother believes everyone breaks eventually.\u201d
\n\u201cYou just need the correct pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Silence settled heavily across the room.<\/p>\n

Then he added:<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some people it\u2019s shame.\u201d
\n\u201cFor others it\u2019s money.\u201d
\n\u201cFor you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes moved toward Lucy\u2019s room.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026it\u2019s fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya\u2019s jaw tightened instantly.<\/p>\n

Because he was right.<\/p>\n

Nothing scared her anymore except harm reaching Lucy.<\/p>\n

And Alice already knew that.<\/p>\n

Then Richard entered carrying printed documents from the latest court filings.<\/p>\n

His expression darkened immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe moved faster than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya took the papers carefully.<\/p>\n

Another petition.<\/p>\n

Additional requests:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • supervised wellness assessment<\/li>\n
  • child environment evaluation<\/li>\n
  • psychological consultation recommendations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Every page looked calm.
    \nReasonable.
    \nProfessional.<\/p>\n

    That was the horror.<\/p>\n

    Alice never appeared monstrous on paper.<\/p>\n

    Only concerned.<\/p>\n

    David whispered:
    \n\u201cShe\u2019s trying to exhaust you before hearings even begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Maya looked up slowly.<\/p>\n

    \u201cHow do I stop her?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Silence.<\/p>\n

    Then David answered honestly:<\/p>\n

    \u201cYou stop reacting emotionally in rooms where she expects fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The words landed heavily.<\/p>\n

    Because Alice weaponized visible instability.<\/p>\n

    Panic.
    \nAnger.
    \nDesperation.<\/p>\n

    Those became evidence.<\/p>\n

    Then David continued quietly:<\/p>\n

    \u201cShe also hates unpredictability.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Maya frowned.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cPeople she can\u2019t emotionally map.\u201d<\/p>\n

    That sentence stayed with Maya.<\/p>\n

    Emotionally map.<\/p>\n

    Alice survived through prediction.
    \nPatterns.
    \nBehavior models.<\/p>\n

    Meaning the first real threat to her system would be someone she couldn\u2019t profile anymore.<\/p>\n

    Then Harris\u2019s phone buzzed sharply.<\/p>\n

    He answered.<\/p>\n

    Listened.<\/p>\n

    And his expression changed instantly.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat happened?\u201d Maya asked.<\/p>\n

    Harris lowered the phone slowly.<\/p>\n

    \u201cYour former therapist just submitted a professional concern statement to family court.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Silence.<\/p>\n

    Maya stopped breathing.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Harris looked grim.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe statement claims you\u2019ve recently shown signs of emotional instability connected to unresolved trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n

    No.<\/p>\n

    No no\u2014<\/p>\n

    Richard immediately stepped forward.<\/p>\n

    \u201cShe can\u2019t legally do that without context.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Harris met his eyes carefully.<\/p>\n

    \u201cShe already did.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The room went silent.<\/p>\n

    Then Maya slowly sat down.<\/p>\n

    Not panicking.<\/p>\n

    Thinking.<\/p>\n

    Because suddenly she understood something crucial about Alice Mercer:<\/p>\n

    The woman never waited for weakness.<\/p>\n

    She manufactured it.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe Statement\u201d<\/h1>\n

    Maya read the therapist\u2019s statement three times.<\/p>\n

    Each time it felt more surreal.<\/p>\n

    Not because it was completely false.<\/p>\n

    Because parts of it were true.<\/p>\n

    Yes, Maya struggled after childbirth.
    \nYes, she experienced anxiety.
    \nYes, trauma affected her emotionally.<\/p>\n

    But truth twisted strategically becomes something much more dangerous than lies.<\/p>\n

    That was Alice\u2019s genius.<\/p>\n

    The statement described Maya as:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • emotionally overwhelmed<\/li>\n
    • increasingly paranoid<\/li>\n
    • resistant to family support systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Family support systems.<\/p>\n

      Maya almost laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n

      That phrase now sounded like a threat.<\/p>\n

      Richard slammed the folder shut.<\/p>\n

      \u201cThis should never have been submitted without context.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Harris looked grim.<\/p>\n

      \u201cContext matters less once concern exists officially.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Exactly.<\/p>\n

      Alice didn\u2019t need proof first.<\/p>\n

      She needed narrative momentum.<\/p>\n

      Then Maya noticed something strange at the bottom of the report.<\/p>\n

      Date signed:
      \ntwo months earlier.<\/p>\n

      Her stomach dropped instantly.<\/p>\n

      \u201cWhat\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

      David looked over her shoulder.<\/p>\n

      And immediately went pale.<\/p>\n

      \u201cShe planned this before the separation became public.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Silence spread slowly across the apartment.<\/p>\n

      Because that meant:
      \nbefore the affair exploded,
      \nbefore Maya confronted David,
      \nbefore legal threats\u2014<\/p>\n

      Alice was already preparing psychological groundwork.<\/p>\n

      Not reaction.<\/p>\n

      Preparation.<\/p>\n

      Then Maya suddenly remembered a dinner from months earlier.<\/p>\n

      Alice pouring wine calmly while asking:<\/p>\n

      \n

      \u201cAre you sleeping enough lately, Maya?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      At the time it sounded caring.<\/p>\n

      Now it sounded like evidence collection.<\/p>\n

      Maya sat down slowly.<\/p>\n

      \u201cShe was documenting me long before I realized I was under attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

      David answered quietly:<\/p>\n

      \u201cShe documents everyone long before conflict starts.\u201d<\/p>\n

      That sentence made Maya feel physically sick.<\/p>\n

      Then Harris pointed toward another page in the file.<\/p>\n

      \u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Maya already hated those words.<\/p>\n

      Attached recommendation:
      \ntemporary parenting fatigue assessment.<\/p>\n

      She stared blankly.<\/p>\n

      \u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

      Richard answered carefully.<\/p>\n

      \u201cA psychological observation process.\u201d
      \n\u201cUsually for high-conflict custody cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Maya looked up sharply.<\/p>\n

      \u201cBut there ISN\u2019T a custody case yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Silence.<\/p>\n

      And that was the point.<\/p>\n

      Alice was building future legitimacy.<\/p>\n

      One document at a time.<\/p>\n

      Then Maya noticed another attached note.<\/p>\n

      From the therapist.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Patient exhibits heightened emotional response when discussing institutional distrust.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      The room went still.<\/p>\n

      Because now Maya understood the trap completely.<\/p>\n

      Alice creates institutional betrayal\u2026
      \nthen labels the victim unstable for recognizing it.<\/p>\n

      Perfect system.<\/p>\n

      David whispered something quietly:<\/p>\n

      \u201cMy mother used to say reality belongs to whoever documents it first.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Nobody spoke after that.<\/p>\n

      Because every person in the room suddenly understood the true danger:<\/p>\n

      Alice wasn\u2019t just manipulating people.<\/p>\n

      She was controlling official memory.<\/p>\n

      Then Maya stood slowly and walked toward the guest room doorway.<\/p>\n

      Lucy slept peacefully curled beneath blankets with one stuffed rabbit tucked under her arm.<\/p>\n

      Completely innocent.<\/p>\n

      Completely unprepared for the world Alice Mercer built.<\/p>\n

      And suddenly\u2026<\/p>\n

      something inside Maya became very calm.<\/p>\n

      Not defeated.<\/p>\n

      Focused.<\/p>\n

      Because Alice expected:
      \nfear,
      \npanic,
      \nemotional collapse.<\/p>\n

      Instead Maya finally understood the only way to survive women like Alice:<\/p>\n

      Stop defending yourself emotionally.<\/p>\n

      Start exposing the system itself.<\/p>\n

      Then Maya turned back toward Harris.<\/p>\n

      \u201cI want every woman connected to those files located.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Silence.<\/p>\n

      David looked up immediately.<\/p>\n

      Maya\u2019s voice stayed calm.<\/p>\n

      \u201cIf Alice built a pattern\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

      Her eyes hardened.<\/p>\n

      \u201c\u2026then patterns leave witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \u201cThe Pattern\u201d<\/h1>\n

      For the first time since the nightmare began\u2026<\/p>\n

      Maya stopped thinking like a victim.<\/p>\n

      And Alice noticed immediately.<\/p>\n

      The next morning, three different things happened within two hours.<\/p>\n

      Lucy\u2019s school requested an unexpected \u201cwellness meeting.\u201d
      \nMaya\u2019s bank flagged unusual activity on her personal accounts.
      \nAnd two parenting blogs suddenly published anonymous articles about:<\/p>\n

      \n

      \u201cemotionally unstable wealthy mothers during divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      Too coordinated.
      \nToo fast.<\/p>\n

      Alice was escalating pressure because Maya had changed.<\/p>\n

      Predators notice when prey stops panicking.<\/p>\n

      Harris arrived just after sunrise carrying coffee and a stack of printed records.<\/p>\n

      \u201cNo more official channels,\u201d he said quietly.
      \n\u201cWe do this privately now.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Maya nodded once.<\/p>\n

      No fear anymore.<\/p>\n

      Only focus.<\/p>\n

      Richard spread the Mercer files across the dining table while David sat silently near the window looking emotionally wrecked.<\/p>\n

      Then Maya noticed something strange.<\/p>\n

      Every woman connected to Alice followed the same sequence:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • emotional concern<\/li>\n
      • institutional involvement<\/li>\n
      • financial pressure<\/li>\n
      • custody instability<\/li>\n
      • social isolation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Pattern.<\/p>\n

        Not coincidence.<\/p>\n

        Maya whispered:
        \n\u201cShe industrialized psychological destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Harris looked up sharply.<\/p>\n

        \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what this is.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Then Richard found another common detail.<\/p>\n

        Same psychiatrist.
        \nSame law firm.
        \nSame financial mediator.<\/p>\n

        Again and again.<\/p>\n

        One network.<\/p>\n

        Alice didn\u2019t destroy women alone.<\/p>\n

        She built systems that did it for her.<\/p>\n

        Then Maya pointed toward Elena Rivera\u2019s file.<\/p>\n

        \u201cShe fought back.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Harris nodded slowly.<\/p>\n

        \u201cAnd disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Silence settled heavily.<\/p>\n

        Then David spoke quietly for the first time in almost an hour.<\/p>\n

        \u201cThere\u2019s someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Everyone looked toward him.<\/p>\n

        David swallowed hard.<\/p>\n

        \u201cMy mother used to talk about a woman named Naomi.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Maya frowned.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWho was she?\u201d<\/p>\n

        Silence.<\/p>\n

        Then:
        \n\u201cThe only person who ever scared her.\u201d<\/p>\n

        The room went completely still.<\/p>\n

        Because fear and Alice Mercer almost never existed in the same sentence.<\/p>\n

        Richard leaned forward immediately.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWhat happened to Naomi?\u201d<\/p>\n

        David shook his head slowly.<\/p>\n

        \u201cI don\u2019t know completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Then softer:<\/p>\n

        \u201cBut one night I heard my mother say:<\/p>\n

        \n

        \u2018Naomi understood the accounts.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        Maya\u2019s pulse accelerated instantly.<\/p>\n

        Accounts.<\/p>\n

        Money trails.
        \nSettlement systems.
        \nHidden trusts.<\/p>\n

        Naomi found the structure underneath everything.<\/p>\n

        Then Harris searched quickly through the archive index papers.<\/p>\n

        And froze.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

        He slowly turned a document toward Maya.<\/p>\n

        Name:
        \nNaomi Bennett.<\/p>\n

        Status:
        \nDECEASED.<\/p>\n

        Cause:
        \nsuicide.<\/p>\n

        Maya\u2019s stomach dropped immediately.<\/p>\n

        No.<\/p>\n

        Not again.<\/p>\n

        Then Harris noticed something else.<\/p>\n

        Date of death:
        \neight years earlier.<\/p>\n

        Three months after filing financial fraud allegations against Mercer Holdings.<\/p>\n

        Silence crushed the room.<\/p>\n

        Then Richard whispered:
        \n\u201cThis can\u2019t all be coincidence anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

        No.<\/p>\n

        It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

        Then Maya looked closer at Naomi\u2019s file summary.<\/p>\n

        One sentence highlighted in red:<\/p>\n

        \n

        Daughter relocated after maternal death.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        Maya frowned immediately.<\/p>\n

        \u201cShe had a child?\u201d<\/p>\n

        David nodded slowly.<\/p>\n

        \u201cA little girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

        The room suddenly felt heavier.<\/p>\n

        Because now the pattern extended beyond women.<\/p>\n

        Children inherited the damage too.<\/p>\n

        Then Maya whispered something quietly that terrified even herself:<\/p>\n

        \u201cHow many families did Alice destroy?\u201d<\/p>\n

        Nobody answered.<\/p>\n

        Because nobody knew anymore.<\/p>\n

        Then Harris\u2019s phone buzzed sharply.<\/p>\n

        He checked the message.<\/p>\n

        And his face changed instantly.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWhat happened?\u201d Maya asked.<\/p>\n

        Harris looked directly at her.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWe found Naomi Bennett\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Silence.<\/p>\n

        Then quietly:<\/p>\n

        \u201cShe\u2019s been using a different name for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

        \u201cNaomi\u2019s Daughter\u201d<\/h1>\n

        The girl\u2019s real name was Lily Bennett.<\/p>\n

        At least, it used to be.<\/p>\n

        Now she lived under another identity in Oregon, nearly three thousand miles away from New York.<\/p>\n

        New surname.
        \nNew records.
        \nMinimal online presence.<\/p>\n

        Like someone spent years trying to disappear carefully.<\/p>\n

        Maya sat frozen at Richard\u2019s dining table while Harris reviewed the background report quietly.<\/p>\n

        \u201cShe changed her name legally at eighteen,\u201d he explained.
        \n\u201cThen cut contact with almost everyone connected to her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Maya\u2019s chest tightened.<\/p>\n

        Because suddenly she understood something horrifying:<\/p>\n

        The daughters always inherited the fear.<\/p>\n

        Lucy.
        \nMaya.
        \nNow Lily.<\/p>\n

        Different women.
        \nSame damage.<\/p>\n

        David rubbed his face tiredly.<\/p>\n

        \u201cMy mother hated talking about Naomi.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Harris looked up sharply.<\/p>\n

        \u201cHated?\u201d<\/p>\n

        David nodded slowly.<\/p>\n

        \u201cShe called her dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

        The room went silent.<\/p>\n

        Because Alice only feared people who understood systems.<\/p>\n

        And Naomi apparently understood the financial structure underneath Mercer Holdings.<\/p>\n

        Richard carefully reviewed older court records.<\/p>\n

        \u201cShe filed formal fraud allegations eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Maya frowned.<\/p>\n

        \u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n

        \u201cAsset concealment.\u201d
        \n\u201cCoerced settlements.\u201d
        \n\u201cTrust manipulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Exactly the same patterns appearing now.<\/p>\n

        Then Richard found something even worse.<\/p>\n

        Naomi attempted to subpoena private Mercer family records shortly before her death.<\/p>\n

        Maya whispered:
        \n\u201cShe got close.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Nobody answered.<\/p>\n

        They didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n

        Then Harris spoke carefully.<\/p>\n

        \u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Maya already hated those words.<\/p>\n

        Harris turned his tablet toward her.<\/p>\n

        Archived police notes.<\/p>\n

        Naomi Bennett repeatedly claimed:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • she was being followed<\/li>\n
        • her phones were monitored<\/li>\n
        • school records involving her daughter had been accessed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Maya stopped breathing.<\/p>\n

          The exact same pattern.<\/p>\n

          Not similar.<\/p>\n

          The same.<\/p>\n

          Then Harris quietly added:<\/p>\n

          \u201cInvestigators documented her as emotionally unstable before her death.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Silence swallowed the room.<\/p>\n

          Because now the system became terrifyingly visible.<\/p>\n

          First:
          \ntarget the mother emotionally.<\/p>\n

          Then:
          \nquestion her stability publicly.<\/p>\n

          Then:
          \nmake her fear look irrational.<\/p>\n

          Until eventually nobody believes her anymore.<\/p>\n

          Maya felt physically sick.<\/p>\n

          Because Alice Mercer didn\u2019t merely destroy people.<\/p>\n

          She rewrote credibility itself.<\/p>\n

          Then David whispered something quietly:<\/p>\n

          \u201cMy mother attended Naomi\u2019s funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Everyone looked toward him.<\/p>\n

          \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

          David nodded once.<\/p>\n

          \u201cShe wore white.\u201d<\/p>\n

          The room went completely still.<\/p>\n

          Not grief.
          \nNot respect.<\/p>\n

          Message.<\/p>\n

          Control even after death.<\/p>\n

          Then Maya looked toward Lucy\u2019s bedroom door again.<\/p>\n

          And suddenly the fear changed shape inside her.<\/p>\n

          Before, she feared losing.<\/p>\n

          Now?<\/p>\n

          She feared the system surviving long enough to reach another generation.<\/p>\n

          No.<\/p>\n

          Not Lucy.<\/p>\n

          Never Lucy.<\/p>\n

          Then Harris looked back down at the report.<\/p>\n

          \u201cThere\u2019s one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Maya closed her eyes briefly.<\/p>\n

          Of course there was.<\/p>\n

          Harris swallowed carefully.<\/p>\n

          \u201cNaomi left behind recorded testimony before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n

          The room froze.<\/p>\n

          \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

          Harris nodded.<\/p>\n

          \u201cIt was sealed privately through an independent attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Maya\u2019s pulse accelerated violently.<\/p>\n

          \u201cWhere is it now?\u201d<\/p>\n

          Silence.<\/p>\n

          Then:<\/p>\n

          \u201cLily Bennett has it.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \u201cLily Bennett\u201d<\/h1>\n

          Lily Bennett refused to answer unknown numbers.<\/p>\n

          Three calls.
          \nTwo emails.
          \nOne message through her attorney.<\/p>\n

          Nothing.<\/p>\n

          Maya understood why immediately.<\/p>\n

          Women raised around institutional betrayal learn silence as survival.<\/p>\n

          Especially daughters.<\/p>\n

          Rain hammered against Richard\u2019s apartment windows the night Harris finally received a response.<\/p>\n

          Not from Lily.<\/p>\n

          From her lawyer.<\/p>\n

          Short message.<\/p>\n

          \n

          Ms. Bennett does not involve herself in Mercer-related matters.<\/p>\n

          Further contact will be considered harassment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

          David laughed weakly after reading it.<\/p>\n

          \u201cThat sounds exactly like someone terrified of my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Nobody disagreed.<\/p>\n

          Because by now fear had become the invisible thread connecting every woman in the files.<\/p>\n

          Naomi.
          \nElena.
          \nMaya\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n

          And now Lily.<\/p>\n

          Maya sat quietly at the dining table staring at Naomi Bennett\u2019s photograph again.<\/p>\n

          Dark hair.
          \nSharp eyes.
          \nConfident smile.<\/p>\n

          A woman who got close enough to frighten Alice Mercer.<\/p>\n

          And died for it.<\/p>\n

          Maya whispered:
          \n\u201cWhat if Lily thinks we\u2019re part of the system too?\u201d<\/p>\n

          Silence answered immediately.<\/p>\n

          Because they probably looked exactly like danger:<\/p>\n