The press conference should have calmed the rumors.
Instead, it made them louder.
By late afternoon, every major news network in the city had replayed Kendrick Walker's statement so many times that even casual viewers could repeat his words from memory. Clips circulated online within minutes of the broadcast. Commentators slowed the footage frame by frame, studying the tone of his voice and the stillness of his expression as if hidden meaning might reveal itself through repetition.
And one conclusion appeared again and again.
Kendrick Walker had not denied the connection.
He had defended it.
That single decision changed everything.
Inside a sleek television studio downtown, two commentators sat beneath bright white lights while footage from the press conference played on a large screen behind them.
The first analyst leaned forward, his voice charged with excitement.
"You have to understand how unusual this is."
The second analyst nodded in agreement.
