Morning didn’t feel like morning.
It felt like calculation.
Emma didn’t reach for her phone immediately.
She already knew what it would show.
Noise.
Opinions.
Versions of her that didn’t belong to her.
Instead, she sat up slowly.
Let the silence settle.
Measured.
Deliberate.
Then she picked up the phone.
Unlocked it.
The flood came instantly.
Mentions. Messages. Missed calls.
Clips of the interview everywhere.
Her name—attached to words she hadn’t said.
Emma didn’t react.
Didn’t scroll endlessly.
Didn’t absorb it.
She opened the video once.
Watched it.
Not as a victim.
As a strategist.
Paused.
Replayed.
Noted the timing of every answer.
Every glance.
Every calculated pause Laura had used.
Every controlled breath Dominic had taken before speaking.
By the time t
