Atlas nodded as well, his voice heavy with regret. “Yes, my King. Sheilla used her position to make Livia’s life miserable. I didn’t know this at the time, of course. The reports I received were plain and unremarkable, descriptions of Livia as lazy, unruly, and a troublemaker. But there were no red flags, nothing severe enough to make me investigate further.”
Markus’s fists clenched, his knuckles whitening. “Sheilla manipulated the system right under our noses,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “She used her authority to break an innocent child. And because the reports were so mundane, no one thought to question them.”
Atlas bowed his head again. “I take full responsibility, my King. I should have looked closer. I should have seen the truth.”
Markus exhaled sharply, leaning back in
