Loud.
Overwhelming.
But I don’t flinch.
I don’t look away.
I keep walking.
Because this—
This is what I chose.
Inside,the air feels cooler.
Quieter.
But heavier.
Like the building itself knows what’s about to happen.
Sarah meets us just past security, already moving.
“They moved the hearing up,” she says. “Emergency review. Judge didn’t have a choice with the media pressure.”
My pulse kicks.
“Good,” I say.
She studies me for a second.
“You ready for this?”
No.
But—
“Yes.”
Because ready doesn’t matter.
Truth does.
The courtroom doors open.
And everything slows.
The room is packed.
People standing along the walls. Reporters filling the back rows. Officials I don’t recognize sitting up front.
And then—
I see him.
Daniel Reynolds.
Standing near the front.
