The hallway outside the family courtroom was lined with a suffocating silence, broken only by the quiet scuff of expensive leather shoes against the polished marble floor. Zeth arrived precisely ten minutes before the hearing, flanked by his parents and a team of four attorneys who looked as though they hadn't slept since the broadcast aired.
Zeth looked pale, his usual pristine, arrogant posture slightly rigid. When his eyes locked onto Casel, who was standing beside Christian near the high wooden doors of the courtroom, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles in his neck strained. There was no physical confrontation, the presence of court bailiffs and the strict decorum of the judicial building prevented even a raised voice, but the hatred radiating from him was palpable.
Christian did
