SEVEN SECONDS!!! - by Bu Kun

Maya Reed has built a reputation as the FBI’s top profiler, known for her razor-sharp instincts and her “seven-second rule”—the ability to size up suspects with startling accuracy in the time it takes most people to blink. Her methods are both admired and feared, earning her the nickname “The Human Lie Detector.” When a string of seemingly unconnected victims are found across several cities, each surrounded by drawn portraits—some smiling, others screaming—Maya is pulled into the case. Each victim had one thing in common: they were once publicly misjudged. A wrongly accused teacher. A woman labeled as a “hysterical” whistleblower. A teenager profiled as a gang member. All were cleared… too late. The killer, who calls himself "The Reflection," believes that first impressions are society’s most dangerous weapon—and is using Maya's own profiling principles as inspiration for his campaign of vengeance. As Maya works the case, she’s forced to revisit her past and a single decision she made in high school—when her testimony helped convict a quiet, awkward classmate of a crime he didn’t commit. That boy, Eli Voss, vanished after his release. But the deeper Maya digs, the more she questions her memory. Was Eli really innocent—or is someone using her guilt to manipulate her? Meanwhile, the killer begins communicating directly with Maya, leaving recordings that mirror her voice, words, and profiling techniques. He knows her process. He knows her tells. And most disturbingly—he knows what she regrets most Key Characters: Maya Reed: Brilliant, composed, but emotionally closed-off. Her strength is also her blind spot—overreliance on instinct over connection. Eli Voss / The Reflection (or is it someone else?): A potential red herring or the real mastermind. A tragic figure shaped by judgment, now playing a philosophical game with life and death. Agent Dax Liu: Maya’s skeptical partner who believes in evidence over instinct. They clash constantly, but he may be the only one who can keep her grounded. Sophie DeWitt: A forensic psychologist and Maya’s estranged friend, pulled in to help. She sees the cracks in Maya’s methods and past. Themes and Arcs: Perception vs. Reality: The story constantly plays with the idea that what we first see is rarely the whole truth. Redemption and Memory: Maya’s journey becomes a fight not only to stop the killer, but to confront the truth of her own story. Duality: Maya and the killer mirror each other—both shaped by their faith in first impressions, both scarred by their consequences. Twist Ending Possibility: In the final act, Maya discovers that the killer has manipulated her into publicly misjudging someone again—on live television. The real target wasn’t revenge; it was to make her a participant in the cycle of judgment she once escaped. The final scene: Maya, facing the world, breaks her silence. No profiler’s analysis. No clever deduction. Just raw honesty—and maybe, for the first time, real clarity beyond the seven seconds.

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