The words hung in the space between them like shattered glass, her face a mask of determination warring with despair. The court reporter, gathering her things, nearly dropped her type at the intensity radiating from Juniper’s rigid frame.

Sophia stepped forward, her face creased with worry. “Juni, what are you talking about? You’re not making sense - we’re a team. Me and Daniel, we can help fix-”

“It’s fine, Sophia,” Juniper cut her off, but with more gentleness than she’d shown Daniel. Her voice dropped to a whisper that somehow carried more weight than her shout. “Everything’s fine.”

Then she turned to Daniel, her eyes hard as granite. “From now on, we keep this strictly professional. The only communication we need will be about the case, and that can wait until after the office opens again.” She aligned her posture, every inch the lawyer she’d worked so hard to become. “When pretrial starts, we focus on saving what’s left of our case. Nothing more.”