Kaia’s POV

They say time slows when you’re waiting for a verdict.

They’re wrong.

It doesn’t slow.

It sharpens.

Every second feels like a scalpel against your nerves—cutting, carving, exposing.

And as I sat on the stiff wooden bench in the courtroom, heels planted, hands clenched in my lap, I could feel my entire life narrowing down to this moment

I didn’t look at Walter.

We hadn’t spoken in weeks. Not since the video leaks. Not since the press started calling us “The Empire’s ...