The photographs slipped from Cambria's fingers like shards of betrayal, scattering across the polished marble floor of the penthouse in a damning mosaic. Her pulse thundered in her ears, drowning out the distant city sounds as she stared down at the images, each one a carefully curated blade, designed to cut deep. Evelyn Stone and Maddox are locked in apparent intimacy. Dates and timestamps circled in blood-red ink as if mocking her hope. Smiles, touches, a kiss frozen mid-air, too deliberate, too perfect to be innocent.
Maddox stepped forward, reaching for her with eyes full of desperation. "Cambria, this isn't what it looks like "
She recoiled sharply, the cold edge of her voice slicing the tension. "Don't."
Her words were ice over fire burning deep beneath the surface, but frozen solid on the outside. Knox crouched to pick up one of the photos, his brow furrowed in disbelief. "These are manipulated. They have to be."
