“He’s leading the resistance.” Jacob made the duck swoop in defiance of invisible forces, and for a moment, Juniper saw herself in that small act of rebellion - a tiny figure standing up to powers beyond its control. “He’s really brave,” Jacob added, “even when he’s scared.”

“Most of these were yours, you know,” Lillian cut in, laughter dancing in her eyes.

Juniper raised her hands in mock surrender. “Guilty. I may have enabled his collection too. Those superhero costumes in the corner? They were on sale, I couldn’t help it.”

“Speaking of work,” Evelyn tried again, but Juniper was already off, rattling through her catalog of case files and deadlines with the kind of precision that only came from practice. The words flowed too smoothly, too perfectly - a shield she’d learned to polish until it shone.