The Blow That Shouldn’t Have Landed

Ares Langford stood in the center of the marble floored courthouse hallway, surrounded by people in suits, clattering heels, murmurs, and the low hum of legal warfare. But he heard none of it. Every sound felt muted, as though the world had slipped behind frosted glass. His attorney, Weston, was still talking to him, lips moving fast, panicked, desperate to minimize the damage in real time, but the words barely registered.

It wasn’t shock this time. It ...