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is not real. And yet we eventually come to know or feel we
    know that reality, in the sense of full, healthy experiencing of life, is
    not here.’’
    Now let’s examine the second dimension of the Dark Triad:
    narcissism.
    Narcissists have a grossly inflated sense of their own abilities and
    importance. They believe they are unique, special, blessed, touched,
    golden, and they want to be recognized for it—even without the
    achievement to back it up. Like the mythological Narcissus, who
    died of excessive pride because he could not stop gazing at his
    reflection, pathological narcissists have an insatiable need to be
    admired. They also have what forensic psychiatrist Martin Blinder
    calls ‘‘an overweening sense of entitlement’’ and are consumed with
    fantasies of unlimited success, power, sex, brilliance, and love. Yet
    they have little capacity for genuine love because they are only
    interested in being loved. Narcissists live life behind a mask, and

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    many lead elaborate double lives, pretending to be something or
    someone they are not.
    But the flip side of narcissism—what lies behind the mask, on the
    other side of the mirror—is insecurity. Any evidence that does not
    fit the grandiose view a narcissist holds of himself must be denied,
    devalued, avoided at all costs. A highly narcissistic person’s need for
    constant external self-validation may be so great that if access to his
    ‘‘supply’’ is frustrated, he may act out violently.
    Blinder, who has consulted on hundreds of domestic homicide
    cases over the last four decades, believes intimate partner killers
    are intensely narcissistic and somewhat psychopathic. They feel no
    remorse or guilt for their crimes because they don’t believe they have
    done anything wrong. In fact, they often see themselves as the victim.
    Psychopaths, narcissists, and Machiavellians are all manipulators,
    but narcissistic manipulation is the most emotionally insidious, the
    kind to which an unsuspecting woman is most vulnerable. When
    Scott was forced to admit to Amber that he lied about being married,
    he spun another more elaborate and self-serving lie about having
    recently ‘‘lost’’ his wife, something so difficult to talk about that he just
    pretended he was never married. It was a lie so emotionally loaded,
    told with Academy Award–caliber drama, that within seconds she was
    feeling sorry for him . She was holding his hand. She was comforting
    him and forgiving him . And she was no longer asking any questions.
    The third aspect of the Dark Triad is Machiavellianism. Like the
    author of the sixteenth-century political treatise who advocated an
    end-justifies-the-means approach to wielding political power, people
    with a high degree of Machiavellianism have a strongly utilitarian
    view of the world. Other people are just pawns in their game, objects
    to be used for their own gratification.
    A high degree of Machiavellianism is associated with sexual aggres-sion and has been found in otherwise ‘‘normal’’ college students who
    commit date rape. ‘‘High Machs’’ are schemers who use every means
    at their disposal— flattery, manipulation, deceit— to gain advantage
    over others. Where the psychopath acts impulsively without any
    concern for the consequences, a Machiavellian is a more strategic
    manipulator.
    ‘‘One can connect all three of these characteristics in someone like
    Scott Peterson,’’ said Paulhus. ‘‘If indeed he is a major narcissist he
    feels like he is special, like laws don’t apply to him. He’s entitled to
    do things that other people are not supposed to do. That leads into

    The Dark Triad
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    Machiavellianism. That sense of superiority means he can manipulate
    others because they are not as clever as he is. Then you work your
    way down into psychopathy: remorselessness, impulsiveness.’’
    When I asked Dr. Paulhus why someone like Scott would continue
    to call and pursue Amber Frey even