The Ruling That Made Them Go Quiet Forever
I walked back to my seat and picked up my blazer like nothing had happened.
My pulse was steady again.
My face was calm.
My hands—those “manual labor” hands—didn’t shake.
Judge Sterling returned to the bench.
She didn’t sit.
She looked down at Beatrice with a level of disgust that didn’t need words.
Then she said what the whole room now understood.
“The court acknowledges the identity of the defendant.”
“Dr. Elara Vance is exactly who she says she is.”
