Several reporters in the front row immediately raised their phones, recording the massive screens as the audio continued to loop.

I stood in the shadows by the exit, watching the man who had tried to erase my mind collapse under the weight of his own words.

Just then, my phone vibrated hard against my palm.

I looked down at the screen and saw a text from an unknown number.

“We have Silas in custody at the clinic. State troopers are entering the building now.”

It was a text from Detective Miller.

I looked up from my phone, my fingers cold against the glass screen.

At the main entrance of the auditorium, the heavy glass doors swung open with a dull thud.

Four state troopers in dark grey uniforms walked down the center aisle, their boots heavy on the carpet.

Behind them was Assistant District Attorney Sandra Vance, carrying a leather briefcase.

The reporters stopped filming the screens and turned their cameras toward the aisle.

Flashbulbs began to pop in rapid succession, casting harsh white light over the arriving officers.