The courthouse doors shut behind them, but the tension didn't. It followed.
Clung. Sat heavy in the air as Sebastian, Vivian, Mr. Ravenscroft, and Alaric stepped into the car.
No one spoke immediately. The silence wasn't empty. It was full—of everything that had just happened. The questions.
The judge's demand.The shift.
The driver pulled out smoothly, the city noise fading behind tinted glass.
Inside— Stillness.Vivian sat beside Sebastian.Close. But not close enough.
Her hands rested in her lap, fingers lightly intertwined, her gaze fixed ahead—but not seeing the road. Seeing something else.
Something forming. Something she hadn't fully said yet.
Mr. Ravenscroft leaned slightly back, his face unreadable, mind clearly working.
Alaric sat forward, elbows on his knees, already thinking ten steps ahead.
And Sebastian—
Sebastian's eyes remained steady.
Focused.But sharp.
Because things were no longer adding up.
They were colliding.
Then— His phone rang.
