The station didn’t quiet down after the arrest.
If anything, it sharpened.
Voices dropped lower. Movements became quicker. Controlled.
Like everyone understood something had shifted—but no one was saying it out loud.
Hazel sat on the bench, both hands wrapped tightly around a paper cup she hadn’t touched. Her fingers were still trembling, though not as violently as before.
Relief had come.
But it hadn’t settled yet.
Emma walked toward her, slower this time. Not measured. Not strategic.
Just… present.
Hazel looked up immediately.
For a second, fear flickered again—habit more than reality.
Then it faded.
“It’s over, right?” Hazel asked, her voice smaller now. “She can’t… do anything anymore?”
Emma didn’t answer immediately.
Not because she didn’t know.
But because she understo
