He called at once, laughing down the line. “You think you scare me?”

“No,” I said. “I think you underestimate me.”

He hung up after promising I’d regret interfering. I looked at the dark screen and felt something in me go still. Garrick believed he’d frightened two defenseless women.

He had no idea we’d already started building the case that would end him.

Part 2 — The Bait

Garrick got reckless after the filing. He parked outside my mother’s temporary apartment, followed her to work, and sent photos of her car captioned I can reach you anytime.

Every threat went straight into a secure evidence file.