DAPHNE POV

They told me to keep my voice steady. To breathe, To act normal for Christian’s sake.

It’s easy to give rules when you’re not the one whose whole life is balanced on a single afternoon.

The neutral room smelled of lemon disinfectant and cheap coffee.

A plexiglass partition split the space; on my side, a folding table, two plastic chairs.

On his, a couch and the mirrored window where men in suits sat like jury members, watching everything.

A woman with an agency badge and a ...