“You’ve got no power here, Vanessa,” I said, laying out each word slow and flat.

“You never did.”

Vanessa lunged across the rug, stretching her bright red nails toward the thick blue paper to rip it from my hands.

I didn’t flinch or pull away.

I just held the blue paper steady in both hands and let her see the dark black ink of her own signature just above the gold state seal.

Her hand froze three inches short, her fingers quivering in the air.

Her mouth opened wide, but not a sound came out.