Lina had started her move by targeting the girl most anxious for recognition: Berry. To an outsider, Berry appeared to be the shyest and kindest of the group, a gentle soul who followed in William's wake.
But Lina saw the truth beneath the surface. Berry harboured the deepest craving to stand out, to be seen not just as a companion, but as an equal.
Lina had approached her subtly, weaving a narrative of how Lara and Anjie were effectively "stealing the show," leaving Berry as a mere footnote in William's epic. She had carefully cast the bait, speaking in "what-ifs."
She suggested that if Berry had enough initiative, she would find her own base of operations, gather her own coalition of masters, and strike out independently.
