"Maria… I know about Daniel. About what he did to you. I understand why it happened. But if you want us to help you, you need to write a statement. Everything. No holding back. You have to let us tell your story."
Maria looked up, disbelief swimming in her bloodshot eyes. Her voice wavered.
"Why… why would you help me? After everything I've done?" April exhaled, leaning against the cold bars.
"Because nobody helped you when they should've. And it stops here." The cell smelled of old metal and damp walls, the kind of place where hope came to die. Maria sat there, eyes hollow but defiant, like a woman who'd already made peace with her damnation.
Rafael stood on the other side of the bars, his voice calm, steady, threading through the air like silk over jagged glass.
"Maria… listen to me. We can fight this. Maybe not wipe it clean, but you don't have to go down like this. Not when you had every right to defend yourself."
