Chapter 29

• CHRIS’ POV
• As Judy began to compose herself, I noticed a shift in her demeanour. Her trembling slowed, and her tear-streaked face hardened as though she had flipped an invisible switch.
• Vulnerability was replaced by defiance, the raw emotions she had shared with me retreating behind walls I could almost see building before my eyes. It was like she realised, mid-sob, that she had let her guard down too much and decided to pull herself together.