Part Four — Chapter Fifteen

Theo leaves Alicia’s session convinced she is lying about a masked intruder killing Gabriel. He lists factual inconsistencies: five shots, not six; one into the ceiling; Alicia was found standing with slashed wrists, not tied; and she never explained why she withheld this story from police.

Alicia ends the session saying she is tired and wants to continue tomorrow with “one last thing.” Yuri escorts her away, and Theo rushes to transcribe the session to preserve detail and emotion.

Theo seeks supervision from Professor Diomedes and recounts Alicia’s narrative verbatim. Diomedes first explores Theo’s countertransference: excitement, anxiety, frustration, anger, and fear of failure, noting Theo’s headaches as somatic expression of anger.

Outside, Diomedes flatly rejects Alicia’s tale, not just the shooter detail but the entire scenario, calling it a fantasy. He argues Alicia split off her guilt, cast herself as the victim, and tailored the story to Theo’s “chivalric” instincts, effectively seducing and manipulating him.

Diomedes advises Theo to refuse the narrative and directly confront Alicia with the truth, asserting only confrontation can lead to recovery. Theo agrees to challenge her in their next session, despite lingering disagreement about Alicia’s intentions.