Chapter 1

The Meridian Tribunal went silent for half a second.

Then every recorder in the gallery clicked on.

Perfect. Let them watch me get dragged out like a common criminal.

I dug my heels into the black floor. "You don't get to call it theft because Chief Justice Marlow doesn't like my audit."

The guard jerked my arm harder. Pain shot up to my elbow.

"Careful," Marlow said from his high bench. His voice carried through the chamber. "Defiance will be entered as an admission."

"Then enter this, too." I twisted toward the packed gallery. "The witness memory was altered before it reached my desk. I flagged the break three times. Your office buried every report."

Whispers broke out around the chamber.

Marlow tapped one finger against the bench.

The whispers died.

"You weren't asked for a speech."

"No. You wanted a confession. Sorry to ruin your morning."

The guard shoved me toward the center seal.

My boots crossed the silver line. Light flashed beneath me, reading my name, my license number, and the oath I'd sworn six years ago.

MARA VOSS. CERTIFIED OATH AUDITOR. WITNESS MEMORY DIVISION.

The words blinked once.

A red bar cut through them.

LICENSE SUSPENDED.

My throat tightened. I kept my chin up.

Marlow leaned forward. His white judgment collar caught the light. "You altered an active memory, concealed an illegal witness chip, and accepted payment from the Rook banking house."

A laugh came from the back.

I looked straight at the man in the front row.

Adrian Rook.

Charcoal suit. No visible crease. One hand resting on the silver head of his cane. He looked exactly like the kind of man who could buy a building, a judge, and the truth inside one afternoon.

I had lost my license because of him.

His bank had delivered the witness memory. His legal team had buried my audit. Now he had the nerve to sit there and watch me bleed in public.

"You look comfortable," I said.

Adrian lifted his eyes to mine. Gray. Cold. Annoyingly steady.

"You look angry."

"I save my best moods for men who destroy my career and then attend the hearing."

"I didn't destroy your career."

"Right. You only supplied the memory that did it."

Marlow slapped his palm against the bench. "Enough. Adrian Rook, you will not interfere with tribunal proceedings."

Adrian didn't look away from me. "I haven't interfered. Yet."

That one word moved through the room faster than a shout.

The guard pulled my hands behind my back and reached for the restraint band.

Black metal hovered over my wrist.

If it locked, the suspension became a seizure. My license would freeze. My access would be revoked. My appeal rights would disappear with it.

Thirty years of oath records. My mother's case files. Every client who still trusted me.

Gone.

"Marlow," I said, forcing my voice steady, "you can't seize my license before the appeal window opens."

"I can when the charge involves witness tampering."

"You created that charge."

"And you keep proving it." His eyes dropped to my hands. "Restrain her."

The band clicked once.

Adrian stood.

He didn't move fast. He didn't need to. The whole room noticed him anyway. The guard's fingers stopped above my wrist.

Marlow's face hardened. "Sit down, Mr. Rook."

"No."

One word. Calm. Flat.

Adrian walked down the short steps from the gallery. His cane struck the floor once with every step.

I hated that my body noticed him before my brain did. Cedar and expensive soap reached me when he crossed the silver line. His shoulder brushed mine as he stopped beside me.

Close enough for his heat to press through my sleeve.

"Move," I muttered.

"You want your license back?"

"I want you six feet away from me."

"That's not what I asked."

Marlow stepped down from the bench. "This court will not entertain a private negotiation."

Adrian turned toward him. "It isn't private. That's the useful part."

The guard lifted the restraint band again.

Adrian caught his wrist.

The guard froze. Adrian wasn't the biggest man in the room, but his grip turned the other man's knuckles white.

"Touch her again," Adrian said, "and your clearance dies before hers."

The guard looked at Marlow.

Marlow's jaw tightened. "Release him."

Adrian let go. The guard stumbled back, rubbing his wrist.

I yanked my arm free and faced Adrian. "I didn't ask you to rescue me."

"I know."

"Then get out of my way."

"I need something from you."

Of course he did.

The court had become a wall of listening faces. Every recorder hovered above us, tiny red lights fixed on my mouth.

"Whatever it is, the answer is no."

Adrian's eyes moved over my face. They paused at my lips for one sharp second before returning to mine.

My pulse kicked.

I hated that, too.

"You haven't heard the offer."

"You ruined my license."

"Your license was going to be revoked whether I came here or not."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. It's supposed to make you pay attention."

Marlow's voice cut between us. "Adrian, this hearing concerns Mara Voss. Your inheritance has no place in it."

Adrian smiled without warmth. "My inheritance has everything to do with it. Your office froze the Rook succession transfer this morning."

The room erupted.

I glanced at him. "You lost the bank?"

"Not yet."

"That must be hard for you."

"It will be if I don't sign a lawful family claim before sunset."

Marlow's eyes sharpened. "You will not use this court to force a private arrangement."

"I'm not forcing her." Adrian reached into his coat and pulled out a thin black document strip. "I'm offering her a contract."

Several tribunal members stood for a better look.

I stared at the strip. "What kind of contract?"