**Duncan Apartments**
Adam's on the phone, listening to Juno vividly mimic Marla Grayson's words and tone. Right away, he can tell this doppelgänger of Magical Amy is one tough cookie. 😬
"So, what's Caroline think about it?" Adam asked.
"Not much," Juno replied. "Marla Grayson isn't some rare case—she's just a textbook example of a bigger problem."
"Maybe we could try exposing her true colors," Adam mused. "Let more people know about this stuff, give them a heads-up to watch out."
"You sure about that?" Juno chuckled. "The water's way too deep here. How exactly are you planning to unmask her?"
"Well, maybe we could quietly tip off Sandra," Adam suggested. "She's that stubborn, naïve reporter type—loves digging into society's dark underbelly. She'd eat this up…"
Before he could finish, Juno cut him off.
"Nah, why would we get tangled up in this mess?" She yawned over the line. "With that energy, we could save a few more people instead. It's late—let's talk about it another time."
"Alright, cool," Adam said, catching her drift. They chatted a bit more about random stuff before hanging up.
This was their unspoken rule.
As time marches on and tech gets crazier, both Adam and Juno have upped their game on keeping things hush-hush.
Adam's seen some stuff.
Juno's just got that foresight.
Sure, they use a special encrypted phone.
But even then, they're cautious.
Casual chit-chat? No biggie.
But super-secret stuff? If someone's listening, you're basically handing them leverage on a platter.
Adam and Juno aren't dumb enough to risk that.
For the real confidential talks, it's face-to-face only.
**The Next Day**
Adam met up with Juno and Karen, who'd just rolled in from Boston.
"Sandra's a bad fit!" Juno picked up yesterday's convo as they strolled side-by-side through Central Park, Karen trailing behind. "She's already a loose cannon. If you nudge her toward Marla Grayson, forget everything else—Marla's face alone would send her chasing after Amy, who's off who-knows-where having fun. That's just asking for trouble."
"…Yeah, I kinda realized that last night," Adam admitted with a wry smile. "It was just a random thought. But if Sandra's out, there's gotta be someone else, right?"
"It's still a long shot," Juno said, shaking her head. "First off, we're not diving in headfirst, yeah?"
"Obviously!" Adam nodded.
He's got no personal beef with this Magical Amy double.
Plus, like Caroline said, it's a structural issue—Marla's not some lone wolf.
They're all law-abiding citizens here.
Charging into a systemic mess like this on their own? That'd be nuts.
If it ever came to that, it'd be some epic "Liu Xiu (Chosen One) vs. Wang Mang (Time Traveler)" showdown. 😂
"Since we're not going all-in, we'd have to play it subtle," Juno reasoned. "We could leak it to some ambitious reporter under the radar, but you'd need solid proof. Without it, you're just poking the hornet's nest.
And proof? Good luck with that.
You've heard Caroline break down their scheme, right?
They target lonely old folks with no family.
Team up with the patient's doctor, claim the elder's showing signs of dementia—unfit to live alone, no guardian. They use 'emergency circumstances' as an excuse to skip court testimony and get guardianship handed straight to a 'professional.'
In that ruling?
The doctor giving the medical opinion? Their guy.
The judge making the final call and picking the guardian? Also their guy.
Unless you've got hard evidence of bribery, it's 100% legal.
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Then it's the elder's turn.
She rolls up with a court order, cops in tow, and hauls off a confused old person.
They handpick their targets—sweet, law-abiding types who've never caused trouble. First, the court papers freak them out, then the distant police lights seal the deal. They go along, totally lost.
Once they're in her nursing home, phones are confiscated, doors are locked down—what's an old person gonna do?
Then they swoop in, take over the elder's assets, gut the house, auction everything off.
Without guardian approval, no reporter's getting near the victim. Evidence is damn near impossible to snag.
And if they catch wind someone's sniffing around? They panic, drug the elder up—dementia or not, they'll make it dementia.
By then, the elder can't even talk. The guardian calls the shots, and no lawsuit's gonna scare them."
"…" Adam had heard it before, but it still sent chills down his spine. He sighed, "These Marlas deserve to die."
"Oh, they do," Juno said, glancing at him. "But even if this Marla's gone, there'll be a million more just like her. The payout's too juicy.
Their targets? Successful, wealthy, cultured people—lifetime savings ripe for the taking.
Like Marla says, in this hunt, these independent elders are sheep, and she's the freaking lion tearing into bloody prey!"
"Any good ideas?" Adam turned to Juno. "Even if we can't wipe them all out, taking down one and letting people know this happens—giving them a heads-up—that's a huge win!"
"Heh," Juno smirked. "Admit it, you just hate her face. Reminds you of that high school 'drama life,' doesn't it?"
"Ahem!" Adam coughed, feeling Karen's eyes on him too. "What drama life? It's not about the face. I'm just an average guy who's pissed at this kind of scum."
"Fine, whatever you say," Juno teased. "Honestly, we're not fans of Marla Grayson either. She loves targeting independent women—90% of her cases are old ladies. Why's a woman gotta screw over other women?"
"She's into women too…" Adam muttered.
But under Juno and Karen's stares, he quickly flipped to high-EQ mode, grinning awkwardly. "I mean, she's giving you all a bad name!"
Like Zhou Shuren said: "A traitor's worse than the enemy!"
Marla Grayson—independent woman, lesbian, preying almost exclusively on other independent women? In Juno's eyes, she's the ultimate backstabber.
Total trash! 😡
"Still," Adam added, "if we could just—"
(Chapter End)