Chapter 5 - THE COLLAPSE OF THE HOUSE OF CARDS"Turn it off! Turn that off!" Hunter shrieked, lunging toward the audio jack on the wall, but the security guards intercepted him instantly, pinning his arms behind his back and shoving him hard against the wall.
Dr. Alistair Sterling stood up slowly from his chair. His face was thunderous. He looked down at the audio transcripts, then at the photographs of the ruined hair, and finally up at Selena, who stood tall and unyielding beneath the blue projector light.
"Dr. Vance," Sterling’s voice trembled with controlled fury. "Did your husband and mother-in-law commit this assault against you last night?"
Selena drew a deep, steady breath. She looked out over the crowd, meeting the eyes of her colleagues, her father, and finally, the pathetic, trembling wreck of her husband.
"Yes, Dr. Sterling," Selena said, her voice echoing powerfully through the microphones. "They attempted to physically and psychologically prevent me from standing before this committee today. They believed that by destroying my appearance and breaking my spirit, they could force me to abandon eight years of sleepless nights, archival research, and intellectual sacrifice."
She lifted her chin higher, letting the bobby pins slip slightly so the jagged, uneven locks fell forward around her face like a badge of honor.
"They were wrong. No man, no family, and no amount of cruelty can lock away a mind that has learned how to think."
A thunderous eruption of applause shattered the silence. It started in the front row with Dr. Sterling, who began clapping with fierce, emotional intensity. Within seconds, every student, professor, and academic in the auditorium was on their feet, clapping, cheering, and whistling.
Hunter covered his face with his hands, shrinking into himself as camera flashes illuminated his disgrace from every possible angle.
Barbara Vance, who had just arrived at the back of the auditorium in a frantic taxi cab, pushing her way through the doors, froze in absolute horror as she saw her son pinned against the wall and the entire room glaring at her with righteous fury.
"Well," Richard Vance said, turning around with a chilling, victorious smile as he spotted Barbara standing by the entrance. "Look who decided to join the execution."
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Barbara tried to back out the door, but Arthur the security guard stepped in front of her, sliding the deadbolt home with a satisfying, metallic click.
"Oh, no you don't, Mrs. Vance," Arthur said coldly. "You're going to stay and watch the graduation."
