Premise: There was no one I could appeal to for help without giving myself away to THEM, and if I risked it and failed and Mrs. Vandemeyer looked so rich, and so beautifully dressed, that I felt convinced they'd take her word against mine, and think it was part of my mental trouble to think myself 'persecuted' I felt that the horrors in store for me would be too awful once they knew I'd been only shamming." Sir James nodded comprehendingly.

Hypothesis: I decided to ask for help because I was convinced they would believe my story.
Relation: contradiction