Victoria trusted Lili. She really fucking trusted her.

Even when another coincidence cropped up, when another shaky alibi was exposed, when another subtle thing pointed her way, She defended her, internally. But she still had doubts.

But now? Now it was too much. Too many inconsistencies. Too many coincidences that no longer felt like coincidences.

Unlike Alice, Victoria was not emotionally vulnerable. She wasn't easily swayed by someone's tears, by their stories of suffering. She wasn't as attached to Lili as Alice was, and that made all the difference.

She liked Lili, sure. But liking someone wasn't the same as trusting them.

Victoria was hardened by what she's lost. Her pain, her grief, her experience made her sharper, more aware. Willing to cut through the lies.

And as much as she hated to admit it, she knew she was smart enough to recognize patterns. She knew how to follow the threads and not get lost in them. Not to be fooled by emotions.

But how could you doubt someone who seemed so vulnerable? Someone who had become part of your routine?

Lili was in her life every day, now. They became familiar to each other. She's gotten used to her presence, to her stories, to her quiet smiles. It was so easy to trust someone when they fit into the cracks of your world.

Victoria wanted to believe Lili.

But at what point does convenience stop making sense? At what point does it go from being a series of accidents to intention?

Victoria had to know. She had to get rid of the doubt once and for all. She needed to have answers. She needed to kill that nagging question in her mind.

So, earlier the next day, day 284, Victoria didn't go to work. She gave Lili an excuse. Said she was sick. It was weak, but it didn't matter. What mattered was where she was going.

The medical unit, the one place that could tell her what she needed to know.

She walked there, with one thought on her mind:

Lili had to have been going there. She had to have been getting her check-ups, getting her meds, being treated like she said she was. If she'd really been going to the hospital, then it couldn't have been her. It couldn't have been Lili who killed the victim of day 277. It just couldn't.

Victoria was certain of that.

And if she proved that Lili was innocent of one of the murders, just one, then that meant a piece of the puzzle was missing. And if a piece was missing, then the whole puzzle was invalid.

If that one piece didn't fit, it would shatter everything.

And God, Victoria wanted that puzzle to be invalid. She wanted to break it apart. To throw it to the ground and watch it scatter into nothingness.

She needed it to fall apart.

When Victoria arrived, she asked the only doctor there if Lili had been visiting regularly. Specifically, if she'd been there exactly one week ago. The doctor didn't know the names of his patients off the top of his head, so he pulled up the records. A moment later, he found her. "two-face" He called her.

His words hit her like a blow. Lili had not set foot in this medical unit since she was cured. 22 days ago.

Now, she knew, without a shred of doubt. Lili was the killer. The few times she said she was going to the hospital, bodies were found shortly after. There was no more denying.

And yet, she could've kept denying it. She could've let it slide, told herself the coincidences still meant something else. But she didn't. Because what this confirmed—what this cold fact told her—was that her initial doubts, the ones she'd fought against just a week ago, were right all along.

The only regret she had was not trusting her instincts back then. If she had, she might have saved people. But now, there was more blood on her hands.

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