Four months after returning from their trip, Edward hires Daniel Dietricht to work for Marianne. A Eurasian mental controller. His blue eyes and blonde hair remind Marianne of Erik in a way. They have no similarity other than that. Their features are completely different and intellectually, the man is nowhere near her late husband.

  When she first meets him, Aymee understands one thing right away. The man, at least fifteen years older than her, is more talented than her. Two days later, she realizes he is manipulative. It’s not just his side effects. One week after she concludes that he is dangerous.

  “I have errands to run.” Aymee says to Marianne in her office.

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “Just a few days… Wedding planning.”

  Marianne looks away, takes a few seconds, looks back at Aymee and smiles. “Mmm, the big day is almost here. Good luck with the planning. Take as much time as you need.”

  A few days later, Marianne is drinking by herself in her office when Daniel knocks on the door.

  “Can I have a glass, Marianne?”

  “If you answer me this one thing, sure.”

  “Go ahead.” He sits next to her on the couch.

  “Why do people call me Ice Queen?”

  “Because you are from Norway, because the Angel of Death burst the hearts of the Aristons, so… only someone without one could have survived it.”

  Marianne drinks her glass in one go. The man continues to speak. She isn’t listening to him. He leans in to kiss her and she kisses him back. They sleep together on the couch in her office. She falls drunk asleep. It’s the perfect opportunity for him to read her mind without any interruptions.

  He goes back to his apartment and goes through in his mind everything again. All the memories he saw. He falls asleep. Two hours later, five-armed people walk into his bedroom. He tries to use his ability, and only pain runs through his body. They put him to sleep and take him away.

  Aymee asks Edward to meet in one of her hotels. He and his security detail walk inside the suite and she’s there already.

  “Sir, I have awful news about Daniel Dietricht. Here’s a file I compiled on him.” Aymee hands Edward the file.

  Edward carefully reads it. “Where is he now?”

  “Follow me.” Aymee says.

  They drive all the way to the industrial area. Daniel is tied and unconscious inside a cargo container. It’s already nighttime.

  “He had me fooled. Eurasia doesn’t play around. A spy amongst us.”

  “I know, sir. He fooled me at first, too.”

  “Thank you, Aymee.” Edward grabs his gun and shots Daniel in the head three times.

  Don’t move. Don’t react. Don’t look away. Aymee repeats to herself until Edward leaves.

  ***

  March 2022

  Marianne just left Edward’s office and asks Aymee to meet. Aymee tells her to go to the nearest Ortiz Hotel, and they meet in one of the suites.

  “I needed to talk to you in a place where I’m sure no one can hear us.” Marianne is going around the room in circles.

  Aymee puts her hands on her shoulders. Marianne focuses on her eyes and calms down. “I need you to find out who told Edward about the latest development on the machine. If it was someone on our team, or someone in Saif’s. I know you are forbidden to read the minds, but we need to know!”

  “That won’t be needed.” Aymee removes her hands from Marianne’s shoulders. “I told Hall about it.”

  “What?” Marianne laughs. “Be serious, now. Really, Aymee. Please.”

  “I work for him, Marianne.”

  “No…”

  “That’s my job there. To read the other members, their advisors… their analysts… and to report it back to him. Being your advisor is just the cover.”

  “At first…” Marianne takes a few steps back. “I thought you were his lapdog-”

  “I’m no one’s lapdog!” Aymee’s voice raises.

  “But then I thought you were on my side!” Marianne shakes her head.

  “I am on your side.”

  “You told him about the machine!” Marianne shouts.

  “I didn’t have a choice!” Aymee tries not to raise her voice any louder.

  “No, you had a choice, Aymee! You just chose yourself!”

  “Goddammit, Marianne! Hall invited my parents to this project, and they accepted because he has connections. He could open a lot of opportunities for them.”

  “Stop using your parents as any excuse for what you do!”

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  “They took legal shortcuts, things that Hall knows and if it gets out, it can end them. He knows about their ties to the Mexican gang here in the capital. I had to give Hall something. And I hadn’t about you. I had to. The machine was a distraction to Hall. It’s nothing.”

  “It’s a betrayal!”

  “Hall will be out of my back. Out of yours too. I have kept quiet about so many things about you, Marianne. How can you question my loyalty?” Aymee shakes her head. She scoffs. “Do you remember Danny boy?”

  “What about him?”

  “He realized you were hiding things. He slept with you, so he’d have more access. He planned to tell Hall. I took care of it! The rest of your mental controllers try to read your mind! I stop them! How can you question my loyalty to you?”

  “Save it, Aymee! At least admit who you truly are! Self-protection motivates your behavior. You’d be replaced if Hall knew. You are ambitious, I’ll give you that!” Marianne laughs. “Daniel understood that I was keeping some things, but not what, not why, right? You are trying to get to the bottom of it to report to him. Getting closer to me for that. That’s your endgame.”

  “Getting closer to you, so… what the hell?”

  “Just do me a favor, next time stab the knife in my stomach instead of on my back! I’m surprised you haven’t commanded me to sleep with you, so you’d have more access to my head.”

  “What? That’s… rape.”

  “Wouldn’t put it past you…” Marianne’s voice breaks.

  “I know-” Aymee’s voice breaks too. She tries to go nearer her, but Marianne takes several steps back. “Stop what you are doing now. I know why you are doing it. Just stop. Please.” Her voice softens.

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I do. I hurt you, and now you are trying to hurt me, so I’ll leave.” Aymee shakes her head.

  “Aymee… I don’t care about you. You can’t hurt me.”

  “Stop, Marianne. Please.”

  “You don’t matter to me. You are nothing. I don’t care about you. If it wasn’t for your money, I wouldn’t even bother speaking to you. That’s the only reason anyone would pretend to care about you. You pretend to care about me when you are just a goddamn sociopath.”

  “God, Marianne. You are so broken that you don’t believe that anyone could sincerely love you.”

  “You can’t love someone who hates themselves.”

  “No, that you can’t.”

  Marianne wipes her tears and shakes her head. “I want you to erase my memories.”

  “What?” Aymee sits down in the chair in front of her.

  “Yes, it’s the least you can do. Erase all our memories that aren’t work related! Now.”

  “Grow up, Marianne! Those are memories that span over years-”

  “I want them gone!”

  “I won’t do that.”

  “You truly are a sociopath. I wish we’d never met.” Marianne starts to leave.

  “Please, stay.” Aymee reaches for her hand.

  “Is that a command?” Marianne takes Aymee’s hand off her and leaves.

  Marianne breaks down in tears while sitting on her bed at home. Looking back in pain to all the moments, the late-night discussions of theories behind their work, how she’d smile whenever her and Marianne’s eyes meet only to look away after it. Always.

  I shouldn’t have let you in. Marianne puts the photos of Norway hidden in a book. She wipes her tears and heads to the deviant black market. She pays a mental controller over one thousand dollars for him to erase everything not related to work when it comes to Aymee Ortiz.

  On the next day, Aymee enters the lab. Marianne is in her office. The other analysts and mental controllers haven’t arrived yet. Aymee takes a deep breath and knocks on Marianne’s door.

  “Who is it?” Marianne asks.

  “It’s me.”

  “Who?”

  Seriously, Marianne? “Aymee.”

  “Come in.” Marianne takes a deep breath before facing her. Fakes a smile.

  “I have the notes for you to review. Maybe we could talk.”

  “About what?” Marianne scoffs.

  “Marianne-”

  “Dr. Olsen.”

  Seriously? Grow up… Aymee’s gaze freezes when she finally realizes what Marianne had done.

  “Right, Dr. Olsen. Here are the notes for you to review.”

  “Thank you.”

  ***

  August 2024

  Aymee arrives later and notices Sofie. She realizes Marianne is gone already and heads to her hotel room. She knocks on the door. Marianne opens it and rolls her eyes. Aymee pushes the door and lets herself in.

  “Aymee.”

  “What is she doing there?”

  “What are you talking about? What is so urgent that you couldn’t wait until tomorrow and had to say in person?”

  “The newest hire.”

  “Dr. Sophie Myers works with us now.”

  “What the hell?!”

  “Relax, Aymee. She won’t recognize you and even if she does, she won’t say anything at the university. Your secret identity is safe. I know that’s why you are here.”

  “Obviously. You know everything.”

  “By the way, since you are here, saved me the trip. Did you really had to mention the bullets in the meeting yesterday?”

  “Oh, Dr. Olsen, you should be proud of your work. I mean, you thought it would take much longer and the bullets are heading in the right direction. I thought Hall should know and congratulate you on your work.”

  “I was going to inform the others when the time was right. It wasn’t your call.”

  “I know, but I do think that you are too humble at times. This is a call for celebration. Should we open a bottle?”

  “Mmm, this is what really pisses me off about you, Aymee. That you just walk around the place like you own it. You do whatever the hell you want, because you know there are no consequences. I guess to learn that you had to have your parents around instead of them shipping you off to Mexico as soon as they had the chance and you were brought up instead by 20 nannies.”

  “That’s so racist. You know that my grandparents raised me.”

  “Still, they weren’t around. That was a choice. Can’t blame them. I’m sure you were a piece of work, even as a child.”

  “Talking about my parents. Talking about how they raised me. That’s rich coming from you, especially today.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Mmm, let’s see, I don’t think you are getting the award of best mother when you have Sofie working for the people that murdered her father and sent her sister to her death. That’s low, Marianne, even for you. What the hell is the girl doing there?”

  “I knew it. You read my mind. Stay the hell away from Sofie, Aymee. Don’t ever read her mind and don’t you dare tell her who killed her father. Don’t test me.”

  “I’m not going to hurt your daughter, Marianne. That’s your job, actually. Having her work there. Wow! Having her thinking that her sister killed their father!”

  “At first, I thought you were just running Edward’s errands. But it’s not just that. You take pride in having the ability to manipulate everyone around you. You are too smart for your own good. And intelligence without any moral compass is dangerous.”

  “Are you still talking about me or describing yourself?”

  “You truly are a sociopath… Heartless.”

  “This conversation is going nowhere.”

  “Of course you’d run away when things aren’t going your way. At least you admitted to being Edward’s lapdog.”

  “I’m no one’s lapdog!”

  “No? How would you describe your work for him, then, Aymee? Maybe a fancier word is spy better?”

  “My role is to read everyone’s minds and tell Hall. There’s so much that I keep to myself. Especially about you, Marianne. So, I’m sorry if I told him about the machine and the bullets. I had to give him something so he’d leave me alone. Leave you alone.”

  “I just love that you are pretending to be on my side now.”

  “I am on your side!”

  “No, you are only on your side!”

  “For years, I have kept quiet about you. Marianne. Ten years now. And you question where my loyalty lies? Daniel knew you weren’t being completely honest. He was going to Hall. I stopped him! The rest of your team tries to read your mind. I protect you from it. And still, you question my loyalty!”

  “You only do that because if the other mental controllers talked to Hall, if Daniel did that, you’d have to explain why you didn’t report anything to me. You’d be replaced. Dead or alive.”

  “Of course, why else would I be doing anything if not for myself? You are too blind by your self-hatred.”

  “You are going to erase this memory from me. And you are going to leave my daughter the hell alone. You won’t read her mind.”

  “Sofie is a victim, Marianne. Of you. We have that in common. Both wishing you could be a better person than you are.”

  She grabs Marianne’s head, “close your eyes, I can’t do this while looking at them.”

  “I wish I’d never met you, Aymee.” A tear falls from Marianne’s eyes. She’s unsure why.

  You can’t love someone who hates themselves.