The sharp click of the elevator doors shutting behind them sounded like the locking mechanism of a trap. Inside the tight, polished steel cabin, the air instantly turned heavy, suffocatingly thick with unresolved hostility and unspoken grievances.
Sarah's patience, frayed to a thread by the grueling ordeal in the courtroom, finally snapped. She whirled around, her dark eyes flashing as she confronted Jayden, the raw edge of betrayal and confusion cutting through her voice.
"What on earth did he mean back there, Jayden? Did you really deceive his mother?"
The question struck like a physical blow. Jayden's brow furrowed violently, his head snapping toward her as if he couldn't quite fathom what he was hearing. The jawline that had remained stoic throughout the trial tightened, a muscle jumping beneath his pale skin.
"What?" he rasped, his voice laced with a mixture of disbelief and sudden, defensive coldness.
