For a fraction of a second, the universe seemed to hold its breath.
Then, the spotlight swung sharply away from the podium, slicing through the darkness to illuminate the wings. I stepped out from the shadows. My posture was regal, my chin held high. The heavy velvet academic robes flowed behind me with every measured, confident step I took toward the center of the stage.
The entire auditorium erupted. Three thousand people rose to their feet in unison, delivering a thunderous, deafening standing ovation that physically shook the wooden floorboards beneath my feet.
But I didn’t look at the crowd. I looked exactly at the fourth row, center aisle.
I watched the smug smile on Thomas’s face evaporate so violently that I could almost hear his jaw physically click out of place. His eyes bulged, wide and unblinking, staring up at me as if I were a ghost that had just crawled out of a grave.
