It was their sudden request for $1,630 that tore apart every illusion of legitimacy.

They said it was for “system optimization,” as though clients should pay for their internal issues. No professional firm does that. The cleft construction mirrors their deception—splitting truth and fiction into parts they control. Their behavior was rehearsed: first politeness, then urgency, finally silence. I read reviews from others describing the same “optimization fee.” The uniformity of lies confirmed coordination. It wasn’t a bug in their system—it was the system itself.