The countdown continued its inexorable march.
Fifty-eight minutes until they faced the world.
Fifty-eight minutes until Lu Zeyan either salvaged his reputation or watched it burn to ashes on live television.
Millions would be watching, eager to condemn or grant mercy based entirely on how convincingly he and Shuyin sold their performance.
And Shuyin simply smiled and waited, patient as stone.
Because she knew something Lu Zeyan didn't, something that made her willing to stand beside him and play this part and accept his money and his villa and his public display of contrition.
The press conference wasn't going to save him.
She could feel that truth in her bones with the certainty of prophecy.
It was going to destroy him more thoroughly than any courtroom ever could.
All she needed was patience.
The trap was set.
The bait was taken.
All that remained was waiting for the moment when Lu Zeyan would finally understand exactly how completely he'd been outmaneuvered.
