Maya sat on the couch in her office long after Rebecca left, her heartbeat refusing to settle. The air still carried the faint trace of Rebecca’s perfume, cloying and sharp, like the words she had left behind.

For a while, Maya tried to convince herself to let it go that Rebecca’s visit had been nothing more than bitterness and jealousy. But the way she’d spoken… the way she’d hinted that “others” were watching… it felt different. Dangerous.

Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for her phone. She hesitated, then pressed Elias’s contact.

He picked up on the first ring. “Hey, love,” his voice came, warm as always. “You sound...