Mara stepped forward just enough to be seen. “Before you run that,” she said, loudly but calm and clear, “I need to make a statement for the record.” The room shifted—seemingly annoyed and hushing for silence at first, and then curious.
Ethan let out a small laugh. “Kiddo,” he said into the microphone, trying to soften it into a joke. Mara did not react. She kept her eyes on the device like a technician watching a warning light.