But in the past few days, Lilith found her work impacted by him. She had tied a silk scarf to wear to work, but every time she bent down, it felt constricting, yet she couldn’t take it off. By Friday evening, the marks had almost faded, so she finally decided to remove it.

Nina, not wanting to send her alone to measure for Xenia, fearing it would seem too harsh, accompanied her instead. Since Lilith didn’t have a car, Nina drove them there. Xenia sent the location directly ...