#Chapter 33: What Remains

(Violet’s POV) Mariah Sterling was called without ceremony. No title. No reverence. Just her name—stripped of lineage, echoed through a chamber that no longer bowed when she entered it. She walked to the stand like posture could still preserve power. Chin high. Spine rigid. Gloves white. But her composure had begun to fray the moment Elara cracked, and here, under the full light of the court, there was nowhere left for her to stand that wasn’t already scorched. She was sworn in, folding her hands in her lap like a woman prepared to perform dignity. The prosecutor didn’t indulge her. Did you know the pregnancy was false?” Mariah’s lips barely moved. “I had doubts.” “When did you stop doubting?” Silence. “When did you know?” Her hands tightened. Her jaw pulsed. “I suspected—” “That wasn’t the question.” A pause. Too long. Then: “I knew before the trial.” The words fell flat. No apology. No shock. Just cold fact offered too late. “You knew Elara was lying.”