Emma POV I sat very still.

Too still.

Like if I moved, even a little, everything would collapse again.

The courtroom felt smaller than it looked. Heavy air. Wooden benches. The low hum of people pretending this wasn’t someone’s life cracking open in front of them.

Ethan stood at the front.

Straight-backed. Calm in a way that scared me more than anger ever did.

This wasn’t the man who paced the living room.

This wasn’t the man who snapped when he was cornered.

This was a man ...