CHECKMATE! MATEO

Two years had passed since Mateo stood at the podium as valedictorian, his voice steady and full of promise. The memory of applause still lived faintly in his mind, like a fading echo from another lifetime. Back then, he believed excellence and perseverance would finally win him peace. He believed recognition would silence the doubts, and faithfulness would shield him from unseen enemies.

But the seminary had its own designs.

By his second year in theology, whispers began to move through the ...