It begins long before that.

With the first password kept secret.

The first charge that can’t be explained.

The first joke meant to make you smaller.

The first time you swallow your own words to keep the peace with someone who is already preparing for war.

Victor didn’t lose because I was merciless. He lost because he assumed that loving him had made me blind. He believed patience meant I knew nothing. He believed quiet women didn’t keep evidence.