“The DOJ meeting is in two hours,” Juniper said, her voice suddenly professional, though her hands still shook. “I need to prepare our damage control strategy. Alone.”

“Juni-” Sophia started.

“It’s fine. Really.” Juniper’s smile was brittle. “You were trying to help. I get it. But right now, I need space to fix this before we face the judge.”

Daniel lingered at the door. Against her better judgment, her eyes flicked up for just a second… long enough to catch the regret painted over him, something deeper beneath it that she couldn’t let herself read. She dropped her gaze back to the papers, refusing to acknowledge whatever that look meant.