Silence did not break immediately. It stretched across the courtroom, tight and suffocating, like something alive waiting for the slightest movement before snapping.
Mr. Benson's question still lingered in the air, heavy and deliberate.
"Do you know why the Valenridge Council truly chose you?"
Every eye in the room turned to Vivian—not just to look, but to study, to judge, to wait for something in her expression that might explain what no one seemed to understand.
Vivian felt the weight of it all at once. It pressed against her chest, steady and unrelenting, but she refused to let it show. Her fingers curled slightly at her sides, grounding herself, while her face remained calm.
On the outside, she was composed.
Inside, her heart was anything but.
It beat hard, loud enough that she was sure it echoed in her ears.
Her gaze stayed fixed on Mr. Benson as she searched his face, trying to find something familiar, something that could anchor her in this moment.
