Chapter 18 — Vast, Pristine Clarity

My phone chimed softly on the desk.

It was an automated notification from my legal team, and I read it once, my face unreadable.

Update on inmate Julian Vance: transfer to maximum-security facility completed.

Appeal request denied by the Appellate Court. And below it: Update on inmate Selina Cole: protective-custody transfer denied.

General-population placement confirmed.

I read it, and then I cleared it from my screen, and I noticed, with a kind of quiet surprise, what I did not feel.

There was no surge of vindictive joy.