The officiant adjusted his glasses as his voice tried to mask the heaviness of grief it held. He took a slow breath before addressing the mourners once more.
"… Before we hear from those closest to the fallen, the Hero Agency would like to first invite Metro City's Scott McQueen to say a few words to us—"
The moment his name was uttered, the place tensed.
"—a rising star in the modeling industry and also an alleged victim of the attack."
Silence.
Then, a chair scraped loudly against the ground.
"You're calling him an alleged victim?!"
A dark-skinned woman shot up from her seat as tears burned down her cheeks. Her voice cracked with a fury that had been simmering since the moment she stepped into this funeral hall.
"There is no damn way—no way in hell—the Hero Agency is actually trying to protect people like this!"
Her body moved before her mind could stop her.
In an instant, she was storming towards Scott.
Her grief twisted into raw, unrelenting rage.
