Jayden's body trembled violently, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She looked at me, her eyes filled with tears, her voice breaking with desperation.
"I—I am willing to surrender to you..." Her voice cracked, her hands clutching at the air as if she could grab onto hope. "Please... let my family go? Please..."
I nodded, my expression cold but satisfied. "Good choice, Jayden."
But before I could say anything else—
Arturo's voice cut through the tension, sharp and dripping with skepticism. "What kind of tricks are you guys playing?" His eyes narrowed, his voice laced with contempt.
"Is this your plan? To play this drama in front of me?" He scoffed, his voice raw with defiance. "To make me surrender?"
His confidence rippled through the room, making Lorena and her mother's eyes flicker with doubt. For a moment, they hesitated, as if clinging to Arturo's defiance like a lifeline.
But Jayden—who knew the truth—could only look at them with pity.
