The Blurry Lies Between The Lines

t heavier t

more than May

nd, her heart pounding with a strange mixture of pride and dread. She had stood her ground in front of Mr. D

he had said, voice low and laced with somethin

own what he m

't have to be

og of uncertainty. Instead of relief, Maya found herself swallowed by an

ts in the hallway. But also, no structure. N

ared at the TV-but her mind was somewhere far away. Panic attacked her in the stillness. Gri

e letter

tchen counter like it had always been there. No return ad

e note, its messag

't an a

was

h into something else. Anything else. But they didn't. They just s

hadn't thought about the details in a long

Orp

a fear she had locked away years a

re of her trembling hands, and h

d answers,ma

of dust coated the furniture, and the air smelled of

er dared to enter that

,like there was a fine to

e same chair he used to sit in, eyes behind glasses that

w the file

. Unmarked.

ion. Inside was a single letter-blank except for several red warning si

en she

rner, etched in

d triangle in its center. She had seen it before-hanging in

omach

long to her father. I

r. Damian's office be hidden among her fath

ed knowing her fathe

s hap

eded a

e symbol. Secret societies, cults, corporate emblems-nothing matched. She reached out to her former colleagues subt

hing else

ident." She remembered reading it over and over as a teenager, trying to make sense of

been in he

pieces started f

no one else did. He hired her too quickly, watched her too closely. And now that she had

nights ago when she had passed by the old SLA

. We need to stop her be

n talking

t she knew this wasn't t

but there was onl

Mr. Damian that h

ri

t the company, how he disappeared. Maya remembered his face faintly from a staff

was the only

one again,she had

as she looking

known for its low lights and old jazz.

y the window pretending to read a book

wn. He didn't

, slow an

walking over to her table

art skipp

w what she was

s ready to