a perfect mask of calculated charm, crumbled into

he tense room. "Explain how you know my husband and sons are plannin

plicated. We' re not from this... world. We were sent here on a

from who?"

us," Sylvia whispered

ns, and you' ve just told me I' m on a death clock. You have two options: you tell me everything, or I wa

ey knew it was true. The Blake

e us into story worlds, into the lives of powerful families. We complete missions, we g

r 'story world' ?" I asked,

lled with a strange mix of pity and fear. "The system showed us the entire plot. Your husband brings Sabrina in, you' re forced to accept her, your health fails

o horribly plausible. I saw it all: Matthew' s performative grief, my sons' g

ur own plan. We' ve been siphoning money. We were going to fa

tter sound. "You were

decency to

ing. "You' re not going to

ed at me,

eps his real money. Not the official funds. The offshore accounts. Millions. Enough for all three of us to disapp

runner. I' m in better shape than my husband and my sons combined. And

these two young women, who were just as trapped as I was, I saw t