But what truly silenced the room was the simplicity of her reason.

She had not done it out of a sophisticated understanding of the legal system, or a strategic sense of timing, or any of the calculations an adult might have brought to it.

She had done it because her mother had once told her that angels always bring the truth, and she had decided, with the whole clear uncomplicated conviction of a child, to be one.

There was no cynicism in it and no fear that had been allowed to win.