The confirmation email from Senator Connor’s office stayed on my screen long after I finished reading it. The words seemed to echo through the room. Wednesday at 7 p.m. A date. A time. A deadline. My heartbeat slowed into a heavy rhythm, as if my chest understood the weight of what had been set in motion.

I closed the laptop gently and leaned back into the sofa. The sensor light had already faded, leaving the living room wrapped in a dim calm that felt deceptive. Nothing about this moment was ...