Seth's POV
I had never been afraid of silence before.
Not the silence after an argument.
Not the silence before a runway show.
Not even the silence that followed Dad's arrest years ago.
But the silence after court adjourned that afternoon was different.
It was the kind that settled inside your bones.
The kind that made breathing feel too loud.
Brandon walked ahead of me through the courthouse corridor, his shoulders stiff, his jaw locked so tightly I thought it might crack. Reporters shouted questions from behind the barricades outside. Camera shutters clicked relentlessly. Lawyers hurried past with folders tucked beneath their arms. Police officers stood at every entrance.
The world kept moving.
But Ours had stopped.
Mine in particular.
I kept hearing the robber's voice.
Flat.
Emotionless.
Like he was describing the weather instead of the night that destroyed the Hawkins family.
The robbery was planned.
We were paid.
We were told who the target was.
