For several seconds Diana didn’t move. Then she looked at Adrian. “Your father would be ashamed of what you became.”

Adrian met her eyes. “For a long time, he would have been right.”

The answer denied her the fight she wanted. Diana turned and walked toward the exit. No guards chased her. No dramatic threat followed. The doors closed behind her.

Her power had always depended on staying invisible while other people fought the wars she started. Now the room knew her name, her methods, and her failure — and for a woman like Diana, exposure was its own kind of prison.

The hearing lasted two hours and eleven minutes. Crestwood’s attorney requested a delay; Judge Reese denied it. He asked for time to amend the claim; denied again.

Margaret appeared remotely and admitted copying two restricted records under Diana’s direction, and the panel ruled them inadmissible. Clare’s files established that Crestwood had tried to manufacture more.