~LAYLA~
"Your Honour, the prosecution calls Erica Chen to the stand."
Hearing that name felt like a punch to the gut. My whole body tensed up, and I couldn't hold back my shock. "What?" I whispered, turning to look at him. "Erica? How...?"
But the courtroom doors were already swinging open, and there she was. Erica walked in; she looked pale but composed, her dark hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her eyes swept the room before carefully avoiding mine.
My ex-best friend. The woman who'd tried to seduce my husband, who'd planted bugs in our home, who'd vanished after Axel caught her.
Here she was, walking toward the witness stand like she belonged there.
I turned to Axel, searching his face for answers. His jaw was tight, and I could see a little muscle twitching in his cheek. Guilt was written all over his features.
He'd known. He'd known she would be here, and he hadn't told me.
