artment I had rented under a different name. I cut off contact with everyone from my old life. My only communication was a w

I created new identities, escape routes, and contingency plans. I was becoming a ghost. At night, the memories of the fi

, nursing a cup of tea and going over bank transfers on a burner laptop. The bell

s Lil

a hot chocolate and then looked around for a place to sit. Th

aw a flicker of r

d, her voice soft. "T

ind racing. This was

asked, gesturing t

I said, clo

ed different than she had in her studio. There was a shad

u," she said. "You disappeared b

my voice neutral. "Anyone

have. And I wanted to apologize for... for how things ended at

about Julian'

f he made you

teer the conversation to a close. I

nt to leave. There was a

g. He paid off all my student loans. He got me into a better studio in a safer neighborhoo

hot chocolate, her han

al blow. "He has people watching me all the time. He tracks my phone. He doesn't like it whe

and pleading, as if she were search

otecting m

tor. It was that he was her jailer. He wasn't just obsessed; he was building a cage around her, isolating

people saw us talking, he would become

" I said, stan

ve. "Please. I don' t know who to talk to. You seem.

a brand. I pulled

firm. "I can' t help you. You

d up, and I pulled my hood down, disappearing into the anonymous crowd on the street. My heart was pounding. Lil

parents. My mother answered, her

believe the fish your father c

ming, reading, and learning to cook the local

I said, the words c

sweetheart. Take

y were the reason I had to see this through. The conversation with Lily had changed thin