The courthouse smelled like old books and polished fear.

Marble floors. Echoing heels. A silence that wasn't silence—it was waiting.

Adrian stood to my right, tie perfectly knotted, jaw clenched tighter than his fists.

Granny Elizabeth sat behind us. Unmoving. Regal. Watching everything like she had already seen it in a dream.

The judge walked in. Robed. Unreadable. Carried years of law behind his eyes.

He took his seat.

Papers rustled.

Voices whispered.

Then silence again.

And ...