The courtroom was dead silent. The air seemed heavier than usual, weighed down by the words Lydia had just thrown into it like fire. Ivan stood in the center, his eyes fixed on the door through which she had disappeared. His chest tightened. Rage, shame, and guilt fought inside him like a storm. He could feel the heat rising to his face, the tension coiling in his fists.
Without thinking, he stepped forward, moving quickly through the rows of stunned senators. Every whisper and gasp seemed to blur around him. He did not care. He had to find her. He could not leave her hurting like this, not when the walls of the capital echoed with her cries, not when he knew the weight of her sorrow.
The moment he left, the courtroom erupted in murmurs. Whispers of disbelief and gossip cut through the tense silence that had been holding the room together.
Olga chuckled softly, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Looks like things are getting interesting," she said.
