Time/Date: TC1853.01.11, 22:00-23:45 (Late Evening)
Location: Long Estate → Evidence Facility, Ring 4
The dinner had been interminable.
Serenya Long sat at the family table in the Long estate's formal dining hall, picking at braised phoenix tail and saffron rice while her "father" Darian discussed cultivation theory with her "brothers." The conversation washed over her like background noise—meaningless words from people who thought they knew her.
They didn't. Couldn't. Because everything they believed about her was a lie.
And if they ever discovered that lie, everything would end.
The nightmare flashed through her mind for the dozenth time that day. Always the same sequence. Always vivid enough to make her stomach clench.