A sealed envelope was passed to the adjudicator. It was Chloe’s.
“Discovered in her journal. Sealed in a private vault under her name. Released posthumously by her will.”
Verena opened it slowly and read aloud.
“If anything happens to me, it was Maddy. She said she’d silence me if I didn’t keep quiet. She knew. About the first attack. About the poison. I think… she planned it all.”
The room froze.
Maddy lunged from her seat.
“You can’t—she’s DEAD! You can’t use her against me!”
Guards caught her mid-lunge, slamming her back into the marble chair.
Verena’s voice rang out, cutting the air clean.
“Silence.”
Next came the orb. Burned but repaired.
The magitech expert stood. “Traced to a rogue cell. The magical signature? Matched the aura of Maddy’s handmaid, a known channeler. Direc
