The next morning, ire opted for the helicopter instead of her usual car to get to Cryptonic, hoping to dodge the traffic that clogged the streets below. As they zipped over the city, ire nced down, thinking how much simpler life would be if problems were as easy to Once she touched down, she wasted no time heading to her office. Last night, she''d had ate conversation with Winnie, and despite it only being day two of the assignment, ire was itching for an update on Lisa. What had Winnie learned so far? She was eager to find out.


    bypass as morning gridlock. Unfortunately, with the mountingplications piling up, it didn''t feel that way.


    Around ten, Winnie arrived, her usual calmposure intact as she entered ire''s office. ire motioned for her to sit down and asked her assistant, Billy, to bring in tea. As they waited, ire studied Winnie, wondering if the mild-mannered therapist was finding the job as nerve-wracking as ire had expected. When the tea arrived, ire poured a cup for each of them, gesturing for Winnie to take hers. "Drink up, rx a bit," ire said with a small smile.


    Winnie smiled back, taking a sip before setting the cup down. "Thank you, Ms. Peterson."


    "So," ire leaned forward, fingers steepled under her chin, "how is everything going? How''s the acting going with Lisa?"


    Winnie took a deep breath, her fingers brushing the edge of her cup. "It''s... going well, I think. But, honestly, it''s still pretty nerve-wracking. Every time I walk into that room, I''m reminded I''m breaking thew. Fake credentials, fake identity-it''s a lot."


    ire nodded, her expression softening slightly. She knew it was a lot to ask, but they didn''t exactly have other options. "I get it. Believe me, I know this isn''t an easy role to y. But we need to understand Lisa''s angle. Her whole fake-crazy act has a reason, and I need to know what it is."


    Winnie took another sip of tea, and then cleared her throat. "So, it''s only been two days, so I haven''t gotten too far. But yesterday, Lisa was more talkative. We even yed a game of chess."


    "Chess?" ire raised her eyebrows. "Interesting choice for a therapy session."


    "I need to get something out of her," Winnie exined, "and while we yed, I casually asked her what she''d do if she had to ''eliminate'' her enemies. Just a hypothetical." ire''s brows shot up. "Oh? Do tell."


    Winnie leaned forward, voice low. "She said, ''Enemies aren''t as hard to deal with as everyone thinks. You just have to y smarter. I''ll wait until that person shows weakness.""


    ire''s eyes narrowed as she took in Lisa''s words. Her mind immediately started spinning. Enemies aren''t as hard to deal with... wait until they show weakness... It sounded like Lisa was waiting, biding her time. But how could she do anything if she was stuck inside a psychiatric ward? ire frowned, a sense of unease settling in her stomach. Could Lisa have someone helping her from the outside?


    "Has she had any visitors?" ire asked.


    Winnie shook her head. "Not when I was there, at least. No friends, no family, nobody."


    "Not even her mother?" ire''s eyes narrowed. Lisa''s mother was the only family member they knew of who might still visit her, if anyone.


    "Nope, not her either," Winnie confirmed. "But I''ll keep an eye out and let you know if that changes."


    ire nodded, grateful for Winnie''s thoroughness. "Thanks. This is good work, Winnie. Keep at it."


    Winnie stood up, brushing imaginary dust off her coat. "Well, I''d better get going. Today''s my third session with Lisa. Let''s hope she doesn''t get too unpredictable."


    ire gave her a look, one that was both serious and a bit yful. "Careful in there. Lisa''s not exactly predictable, and I wouldn''t be surprised if she tries something. Just... keep your wits about you."


    Winnie swallowed, gave ire a quick, tight smile, and cleared her throat. "I''ll do my best. Thanks, Ms. Peterson."


    With that, Winnie headed out, leaving


    ire to her thoughts. After a


    moment of sitting in silence, ire sighed heavily. The whole situation felt like it was closing in on her. Nothing was easing up, not even a little. Tomorrow, she''d have to go back to the police station for another round of questioning about that dead body in the trunk. And it wasn''t even her fault! She''d just been caught in someone else''s mess. ire muttered a curse under her breath, aimed at whoever had led her into this trap.


    Shaking off her frustration, she grabbed her things, ready to leave Cryptonic and head over to Metacortex for a meeting. The helicopter was waiting, so she hopped in and took off, letting the rush of air clear her mind as they zipped across town.


    When she finally arrived at Metacortex, Sandra, her assistant, met her at the entrance and escorted her to the meeting room. As ire stepped inside, her business partner, a tall man with sharp features and an easy smile, stood to greet her. "ire! Good to see you," he said, extending a hand.


    She shook it firmly, smiling back. "Always a pleasure. Ready to dive into some potential projects?"


    He nodded enthusiastically, and they both sat down. They spent the next half hour discussing different ideas, throwing around concepts for coborations and future deals.


    "What about that eco-friendly tech initiative?" ire asked at one point, leaning forward with interest.


    He nodded, tapping his pen on the table thoughtfully. "It''s promising, definitely something we could explore. But the costs..."


    ire waved a hand. "Costs can be managed. Think of the PR value alone. People are dying for more green tech."


    He chuckled. "True, true. Well, I''ll have my team crunch the numbers, see if we can make it work. And that data-sharing tform idea you mentioned it could be huge. Let''s get our engineers on it, see what''s feasible."


    They kept tossing around ideas until the conversation started to wind down. Just as ire was about to wrap things up, he hesitated, ncing at her with a faintly ufortable look.


    "ire," he started, clearing his throat. "I don''t mean to pry, but... the whole dead body in the trunk situation-do you think it''ll impact our partnership?"


    ire forced a smile, though she felt


    her irritation rising. "Trust me, I''m as far from that mess as you are. I just got tangled up in someone else''s game and I''m doing everything I can to clear it up. It won''t affect anything we''re working on."


    He looked relieved, nodding. "Good, good. I figured as much, but you know how it is. People talk. I just wanted to make sure we''re all on the same page."


    "Absolutely," ire replied smoothly. "I''d never let something like that impact my work. It''s an unfortunate situation, but it''s being handled."


    They shook hands again, this time with the ease of two people who''de to a clear understanding. As ire walked out, Sandra by her side, she took a deep breath. At least that was one thing she could cross off her list for the day.