When the argument intensified and sparks of conflict crackled through the vast hall like static before a storm, a powerful voice suddenly rang out, cutting through the chaos with brutal clarity.
"Enough."
It was unmistakably a woman's voice—deep, steady, and commanding. So strong, in fact, that if one didn't deliberately look toward its source, they might never realize it belonged to a woman at all.
The hall fell into an abrupt, stunned silence.
Caroline stepped forward from the edge of the crowd, boots striking the stone floor with calm authority.
She was the leader of the third team that had arrived with us—and the one commanding the smallest number of subordinates.
Yet the confidence she radiated made her presence loom larger than anyone else's.
She crossed her arms and let out a short, amused laugh, her sharp eyes sweeping across the gathered leaders before finally settling on the source of the disturbance.
