Chapter 5 - The Collapse of the Queen
Maribel looked around the table, desperately searching for an ally. But the kingdom she had built on superiority and polite condescension was in ruins.
She had used my supposed mediocrity as a foil to highlight her own family's brilliance. I was the dull background that made Aurelia's engagement ring shine brighter, the quiet failure that made Stellan's military career seem even more heroic.
Now, the foil had turned out to be forged steel.
"I just... I don't understand why you would lie to your own family," Maribel said, her voice taking on a defensive, wounded edge. She was trying to shift the blame, trying to make my silence a betrayal rather than a necessity.
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"She didn't lie, Mrs. Whitaker," Mr. Voss interrupted, his tone sharp and authoritative. It was the voice of a CEO shutting down a poorly prepared manager. "She adhered to her security oaths. A concept I would expect the mother of a Navy SEAL to understand."
Maribel flinched as if she had been struck. The rebuke from the wealthiest, most important guest at the table was the final blow. She shrank back into her chair, suddenly looking older, smaller, and entirely defeated.
