I started having panic attacks in month eight.The first one hit during a coordination meeting. We were working on three open cases, prioritizing response, when I all of a sudden couldn't breathe. The room started spinning. My heart was going staccato against the ribs as if trying to burst through.Sarah recognized it immediately. "Everyone out. Give us the room."When we were alone, she taught me how to breathe. "Four in, seven hold, eight out. Come on, Victoria. You know this."At last my breathing leveled out. The panic dissipated. But the exhaustion that replaced it was overwhelming."How long has it been going on?" Sarah asked."This is the worst so far. But I've been having mini-ones for weeks. I thought I could manage.""You need a break. An actual one. Not a day off when you're still checking for notifications. An actual break from this mission.""I can't. The Council…""The Council committed you to stopping imitative rituals, not to work yourself into oblivion. There is a dif

Patricia's funeral was held on a grey morning that matched our collective mood.Her family was there. Husband, two adult children, grandchildren who didn't understand why Grandma wasn't coming home. They knew she'd been volunteering with some kind of crisis prevention network. They didn't know she'd been murdered by occultists for interfering with their business.I gave a eulogy. Talked about Patricia's compassion, her dedication, the lives she'd saved through patient conversation with desperate people. Didn't mention the supernatural aspects. Her family didn't need that burden.Afterward, her husband pulled me aside. "She believed in what you were doing. Said it was the most important work of her life. Don't let whoever killed her win. Keep doing the work."The weight of that responsibility settled on my shoulders. Patricia had died for this mission. The least I could do was make her death mean something.Detective Chen assembled a task force. Herself, three London detectives, a fore

The forensic accountant's name was Margaret Lin. She arrived at our Oxford headquarters three days after Detective Chen made the request. Mid-forties, sharp eyes behind designer glasses, carrying a laptop that apparently contained enough investigative software to dismantle criminal empires."I've taken down drug cartels and human trafficking rings," she said without preamble. "If this Crimson Circle is hiding money, I'll find it."Dr. Marsh set her up in a private office. Provided access to everything we'd gathered—sales records, customer lists, property holdings, any financial information connected to the Circle's operation.Margaret worked with focused intensity. Barely spoke for three days except to request additional documents or clarification on details. When she finally emerged, she looked satisfied."They're good," she said. "Very good. Multiple shell corporations, offshore accounts, money moving through so many channels it's nearly untraceable. Nearly. But not quite."She spr

Two weeks later, we returned to the courthouse.Sentencing day. When the judge would decide how many years Edmund Price and his associates would spend in prison. The courtroom was even more crowded than during the trial. Victims' families, media, curious observers.I sat with Detective Chen and Dr. Marsh. Sarah and Marcus had traveled down from their regions. We were united, presenting a strong front for what we hoped would be significant sentences.The prosecution had filed sentencing memorandums arguing for maximum penalties. Twenty-five years for the most serious money laundering charges. Additional time for tax evasion and fraud. Essentially life sentences for men in their sixties and seventies.The defense filed their own memorandums. Begged for leniency. Argued the defendants were first-time offenders, pillars of the community, elderly men who posed no threat to society.Before sentencing, victims could give impact statements. Several families of people who'd died after purchasi

Dr. Emily Santos called three months after the sentencing of the Circle.The trauma specialist who'd defended our methods during the Dr. Walsh controversy. I remembered her as fair-minded, someone who approached supernatural claims with skepticism but also genuine curiosity."I've been following your work," she said. "The prevention network, the Circle prosecution, all of it. I'm impressed. I'd like to collaborate.""Collaborate how?""Research. Academic study of supernatural trauma and intervention methods. Your network has data nobody else has. Hundreds of intervention cases, outcome tracking, method effectiveness. That's valuable research material.""Our work isn't an academic exercise. These are real people in crisis.""I know. That's why it needs proper study. Victoria, you've built something unprecedented. But it's based largely on instinct and trial-and-error. Imagine what you could do with the rigorous methodology behind it."She had a point. We'd been operating on practitione