As he spoke, he signaled the bodyguards. The men stepped forward, muscles tensing. The surrounding crowd watched, their expressions shifting to disdain as they bought into his lies.
A predatory glint flashed in Matthew's eyes. He lunged toward Lucy, reaching for her arm.
"Come here, you—"
"Get your filthy hands off her!"
I didn't hesitate. My foot drove into his midsection.
Matthew stumbled back, gasping. I ignored him and fixed a lethal stare on Joanna.
"The truth isn't hard to find. Given your resources, I'm surprised you haven't looked."
My confidence made her pause. Her brows knitted in confusion.
"Are you saying Matthew is lying?"
She scoffed, crossing her arms. "Fine. Since you brought it up, I'll let you die with clarity. Go retrieve the old case files. All of them."
The color drained from Matthew's face.
Panic flickered in his eyes. He leaned close to Joanna, voice dropping to a frantic whisper. "Haven't I already explained everything? Why dig up the past? There's no need to investigate this again..."
"He's stalling," someone sneered from the crowd. "The kid's just dragging this out for attention."