Zoe's POV
"Your parents' case was never an accident."
Garrett's words sliced through me like a blade.
I stopped walking.
The hallway outside Brandon's room suddenly felt too narrow, too quiet—as if the walls had leaned inward, listening. The faint hum of the house disappeared, replaced by the roar of blood in my ears. My fingers tightened around my phone until my knuckles burned white.
"I know that," I snapped in a hushed voice. The anger flared fast and sharp, fueled by exhaustion and a grief that had never truly healed. "You told me that already, Garrett. At the showcase. So don't call me just to repeat what I already live with every single day."
There was a pause on the other end.
Not silence—breathing.
Measured. Careful.
"That's not what I meant," he said finally. His tone shifted, slower now. Too controlled.
My heart stuttered.
