(Sound of tablet screen scrolling, followed by Chaseās sudden, raspy sigh)
Chase: Mon Dieu! Carmen, look at this! Weird Juliaās fans have made more... whatās it called? Fan art? They drew you... kissing her! And Iām standing behind you like an idiot with my face all twisted! Cāest ridicule! I look like a wet cat thatās been kicked!
Carmen: (gently takes the tablet, eyes narrowing) ChĆ©ri, itās just someoneās fantasy. Julia... she built her own world long ago, one where Iām her trophy. But these pictures... (finger traces the screen) ...theyāre like needles. They remind me how she tried to drive us apart even at our wedding. Remember her "toast"?
Chase: (jumps up, slams fist on the table) Pah! She worms her way in everywhere! Even through a screen! How dare she draw you with her when she knowsāyouāre my wife! Fifteen years, four daughters, and... (suddenly quiet) ...and sheās still like a shadow! The other day Clara asked: "Why does Aunt Julia write that Mama should live in her castle?" Her castle!
Carmen: (places hand on his shoulder, voice icy) She wonāt touch our children. Not with words, not with pictures. These fantasies... let them stay in her head. We know the truth: I chose you, Chase. Chose our family, this agency, even your eternal battles with the coffee maker... (soft chuckle) Her world is a cage of mirrors where sheās both god and prisoner.
Chase: (sighs, but no longer angry) Fine... let them draw. But if she sends you those "gifts" with hints again... (grabs phone) Iāll write a review of her latest book! One star! "Author confuses reality with fantasy. Not recommended. Especially for detectives."
Carmen: (takes phone, smiling) Non, mon amour. Let it go. Better check if our little "agents" ate the cookies from the secret cabinet.
(Chase mutters something about "tiny saboteurs," but is laughing now. Carmen closes the fan-art tab with one precise movement.)
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