The days passed in a blur of gray mornings and restless nights, the city outside the courthouse indifferent to the storm that raged in Mara's chest. The courtroom had become a second skin, four pale walls, the heavy scent of varnished wood, the quiet shuffling of papers, and the low hum of tension so thick it made the air hard to swallow.
Mara sat at the plaintiff's side, a storm cloud in human form, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. Beside her, her brothers sat like her armor: Steve, stone-faced and unreadable; Stanley and Stanford, quiet but watchful; even Stefan, for once, had traded his bravado for a somber stillness. Every one of them was here because this wasn't just about her. This was Justice. Ethan, Velerie, and Vera were also in court.
