The hallway fell silent after the interviewer left.
Avery gripped Dorothea's hand. The little girl kept her head down, fidgeting with her rabbit's ears as if nothing had happened.
Dominic stood beside them, his body leaning slightly toward Avery. Blind as he was, he relied on the sound of her breathing to keep his balance.
"Will she be rejected?" Avery whispered.
"No."
"How can you be so sure?"
He didn't answer. Avery studied him. His jaw was set in a rigid line, but his lips were flat. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"Why did you humiliate her like that? You said her process was unprofessional, but you know as well as I do that Dorothea is the one who..."
"The process is unprofessional," Dominic interrupted. "In this world, only the mediocre need a standard protocol to pro
