At that moment, Samuel leaned closer, his voice low and coated in a falsely gentle tone that didn't match the desperation tightening in his eyes. "Rebecca," he began, his fingers fidgeting slightly at his side, "you know I'm doing this for us… for everything we planned, for everything we talked about."
He paused, letting his gaze linger on her face, hoping to find even the smallest crack in her calm expression, something to grab onto, something to manipulate. But Rebecca remained composed, unreadable.
"This mess," he continued, gesturing vaguely around the room as if the walls themselves held the weight of the scandal, "it can all go away. It really can. But I need you to do just one thing for me, just one. Something so simple, yet so powerful. You, of all people, you have what it takes to fix this. To set the record straight. You can save everything."
