as a

violently, her breath u

begging t

Ke

uldn'

n't s

n't t

rtight. Her fingerprints, her I

nted to h

fall apart, something inside h

er wasn't

sn't a

an who would throw away ev

grab fo

of the accusat

f he believed her, wo

t make

onsumed him that he re

, feeling the ache se

ace, her eyes locking onto his

entire bo

ispered, voice cracking. Yo

throat

e

he kn

proving were two

, she was gui

side him was

o make a

hoice he made, someo

never doubted his

certainty

vidence was damning, but his gu

her work tirelessly, proving

everything she fough

ts were staring

he walked back to his office, h

ot

y pressed against his shoul

als had already gathered, wa

e he alw

rld, the place

y, t

n't hi

s cuffs, straightened his pos

relent

n

ccusa

face, begging hi

to pull every ounce of his inf

he k

was over, he was going b

ing to find o

this kind of exhaustio

orty minutes, but the weight of

xecutives, the department heads,

d, the conversation had spiral

for Anna's termination, her v

wed suit, suggesting a full inv

roperty, and stripping her o

rely been abl

the underlying venom in Rose'

way satisfaction flic

He had put his foot down t

pened, whatever mistakes had

mother

d to release her. Rose was or

like that, Anna

his chest tightening, his hands

nly thing keepi

hen h

ilent

had just lost the woman he

had let an innoc

f the city outside barely audibl

ago, but Kelvin remained, l

day over and o

e the righ

ve defended

, and he couldn't risk appear

e with nothing but his thoughts

t shake the feeling t

, the burn of the whiskey doing

es

ve, confident, unshakable. Bu

in

ng against the floor pull

o

air of concern, her expressio

pa

ce dripping with false sincerity

as been a d

er, his jaw tightening. W

epping closer, her movements

k, leaning in just eno

someone to talk to, she murmur

in a way that mad

rrowed, his pati

sharp, cutting through th

faltering for just a moment

ave

n wasn't

ce towering, his gaz

mly, his tone leaving

ression hardening as she re

off the desk and left the room,

pness that matche

in the room dissipating as

ht in his ch

tried to convince himself ot

e had made the

g Anna, of never seeing

ed Jackson, and the two decide

p

was fast, but the weight in hi

e accusations, Anna's broken v

was to

ith answers, the voice of re

I smell a rat somewhere, Ke

in

already chalking his cue st

n car

ckson said, not bother

h it barely reached h

iliar rhythm of the game offerin

wasn't here

son said, leaning against the

y de

inhaled

he had missed, Jackso

in wasn't going to

ough everything, replayed eac

ince Anna was forced out. An

setup, some

on reacting to the accusatio

checked the

eviewed the

ose, who had always been ea

t the cente

e burn of his drink

ings were go

hing Kelvin carefully. Yo

in n

d-guessing. N

this was all orchestrated, t

was behind i