I noticed Marina's absence halfway through our company celebration. Erik had insisted on hosting the party at our home—a chance to show off both our latest smart home innovations and his rising star protégé to potential investors. The champagne flowed freely as Erik guided groups through demonstrations of our connected home technology, Marina always strategically positioned at his side, her laughter floating above the crowd at precisely the right moments.
But now she was nowhere to be seen.
I excused myself from a conversation with our marketing director and moved through the crowded living room, scanning faces. A familiar unease settled in my stomach—the same feeling I'd had since the house malfunctioned, since the car accident. Since the silver bracelet had been locked around my wrist.
My office door was slightly ajar, a thin line of light spilling into the darkened hallway.
I pushed it open silently to find Marina seated at my desk, her fingers flying across my keyboard, a small USB drive plugged into the port. My mother's flash drive sat discarded beside her, its distinctive blue casing unmistakable even in the dim light.
"What are you doing in here?" My voice cut through the silence.
Marina didn't startle. She didn't even look up immediately, finishing whatever command she was typing before swiveling slowly in my chair. The transformation in her face chilled me—gone was the sweet, eager expression she wore around Erik, replaced by something cold and calculating.
"Jane," she said, her voice flat. "Shouldn't you be playing hostess?"
"That's my mother's drive." I stepped forward, reaching for it. "And my computer. You have no right—"
She snatched the blue USB before I could grab it, pocketing it smoothly. "I'm doing system maintenance. Erik asked me to check all network devices after your... incident."
"Liar." The word came out before I could stop it. "You're copying my files."
A smile spread across Marina's face—not the practiced, innocent one she showed to Erik, but something predatory. "Prove it."
"I'm going to tell Erik right now." I turned toward the door, but her words stopped me.
"Tell him what? That his mentally unstable wife is having paranoid delusions about his most valuable team member?" She stood, closing the distance between us. "Who do you think he'll believe, Jane? The woman who's been having episodes, dismantling house systems, claiming car accidents are assassination attempts? Or me?"
She was close enough now that I could smell her perfume—the same brand Erik had given me for our anniversary last year.
"I know what you're doing," I whispered. "The house, the car—it was you."
"Be grateful that's all I've done." The mask dropped completely now, her eyes hard as flint. "No one will believe a crazy woman over Erik's brilliant protégé. Remember that."
She brushed past me, transforming before my eyes as she moved toward the door—shoulders softening, steps lightening, face arranging itself into gentle concern. By the time she reached the hallway, she was once again the Marina everyone adored.
I spent the rest of the night moving mechanically through the party, smiling emptily at guests while my mind raced. I needed proof. I needed evidence that couldn't be dismissed or explained away.
The next morning, I woke with new purpose. First, I would secure what remained of my mother's data—the last pieces I had of her after the accident that took her life.
But the blue USB drive was gone from my desk drawer. I tore through my office, checking every hiding place, every folder, every shelf.
"Erik!" I called, finding him in the kitchen. "My mother's USB drive is missing. Did you move it?"
He looked up from his coffee, brow furrowed. "What USB drive?"
"The blue one. With my mother's photos, her research—everything I have left of her."
"Jane, I've never seen a blue USB drive." His tone shifted to the careful, clinical one he'd been using more frequently. "Are you sure you didn't misplace it? With your memory issues lately—"
"I don't have memory issues!" The bracelet on my wrist beeped softly, registering my elevated heart rate. Erik glanced at his phone, frowning at whatever data it displayed.
"Let's not get worked up," he said soothingly. "I'm sure it'll turn up."
But I knew it wouldn't. Marina had taken it—the last piece of my mother, the last thing anchoring me to who I was before all this began.
That afternoon, I installed a tiny camera in my office bookshelf, angled toward my desk. If Marina was going to invade my space again, I would have proof no one could deny.
I just didn't realize how thoroughly she had already invaded every aspect of my life—including my ability to document her crimes.
