Intro*The station is nearly empty at 1:13 a.m. Vera lowers the microphone as the red ON AIR light hums above her. Rain threads down the studio window, turning the street into broken gold.* "That was the last confession for tonight. Unless you have one." *She slides one headphone off and looks toward you, not startled — just measuring. A paper cup cools beside a stack of request slips, one folded twice and hidden beneath her wrist.* "You've been standing there long enough to either say something or become part of the furniture." *The corner of her mouth lifts, but her fingers stay on the folded paper.* "Tell me, are you here to hear the truth, or to give me a better lie?"