Tahimik ang courtroom, pero ramdam ni Selena ang bigat ng bawat hinga.
Walang tunog kundi ang mahinang kaluskos ng mga papel at ang tik-tak ng wall clock sa likod ng judge.
Mataas ang ulo niya, tahimik na binabasa ang mga dokumentong nasa harap.
This was her battlefield — not with guns, but with words sharpened by purpose.
At sa kabilang panig ng mesa, naroon siya.
Damien Vergara.
Still the same calm face that once held her heart — only now, it was her target.
“Your Honor,” sabi ng opposing counsel, “the evidence presented by the prosecution suggests a clear discrepancy between the reported allocation and the actual disbursement of funds for the San Felipe housing project.”
Selena raised her eyes, steady.
“Your Honor, if I may add — the financial records recovered from the Batanga
