By the time the false accusation of the bracelet arrived, the ground had already been prepared for months to make it believable.

Vanessa had not gambled that I would take her word over Teresa’s on the strength of a single incident.

She had spent weeks making sure that by the time it mattered, taking her word would feel like simply agreeing with what I already half-believed.

It very nearly worked.

It would have worked, on almost any man who came home on schedule to a story already tidied up.

And I think it is worth naming plainly what the strategy actually was, because it is more common than people like to admit and it does not only happen to housekeepers.