The real hearing date was set for the second week of January.

To everyone else, it looks like a normal legal schedule. To Lukas and Lynda, it felt like a countdown with invisible shadows standing behind the numbers.

Lynda returned to her rented room after her final briefing with her lawyer. The landlord had asked no questions. She paid her rent early, kept the place neat, and never made noise. The room had no glamour, but it had become her only steady ground. Her table was filled with ...