Noel didn't move for a full three seconds.
He stood on the pavement with Cedric's hands still at his shoulders and watched the police carriage pull away from the kerb, and his mind went very quiet and very still.
Then it started working.
He straightened up. He stepped away from Cedric's hands. He turned and walked through the front entrance of the Hartwell company building without saying anything to anyone.
---
The building was warm inside with the staff pretending to be busy when they saw Noel but Noel walked past all of it. He knew where his father's office was and made his way there.
He knocked once and went in without waiting.
His father was behind the desk. He looked up from the papers in front of him with the particular expression he reserved for Noel. He wasn't trying to be kind exactly, but already prepared to be disappointed.
