Chapter 12 - The Sinking ShipThe auditorium erupted into chaos. Tech investors were taking photos, faculty members were whispering urgently, and several students in the back rows were recording the entire event on their phones.
"This is a circus!" Lorraine yelled as handcuffs clicked around her wrists. "She’s a disobedient, worthless girl! She’s nothing without us! Daniel gave her everything!"
Daniel looked completely broken. As the officers forced his arms behind his back, he looked up at Claire, his eyes pleading. "Claire, please... don't do this. We can talk about this. I love you. I was just stressed about the business—"
"You didn't love me, Daniel," Claire said, her voice calm and steady, projecting clearly over the noise of the room. "You loved the access my mind gave you. You loved the idea of keeping me small so you could feel big. But I am not small. And I am no longer yours."
The officers began to lead them out. Daniel hung his head, his face pale and tear-stained, while Lorraine continued to scream curses until the heavy oak doors shut behind them, muffling her voice into silence.
The room fell into a stunned, quiet hush.
Claire looked down at the heavy sewing shears lying at the base of her podium. She stepped down, picked them up, and placed them calmly inside the plastic evidence bag next to her shorn hair.
May you like
She walked back to her podium, adjusted her microphone, and looked at the doctoral committee.
"Now," Claire said, as if nothing had happened. "Let us return to the technical specifications of the Veritas detection engine."
