The Weight of Expectation

The room was frozen.

Not in fear, not in confusion, but in something deeper—an uncertainty that settled in the air like static before a storm. My words had shattered whatever preconceived notions they had about me, leaving them with nothing but the overwhelming realization that I was something outside their understanding.

Those who had defended me were too stunned to respond, their mouths slightly open, their bodies tense as they processed the magnitude of what I had just declared.

But those against me?

They erupted.

"This is a joke!"

"He's delusional!"

"You think you're above them?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

And leading that furious outcry was Elliot Vance.