Maria t his eyes, steady but fading. "I have less than a month. Maybe less. My organs are failing. They caught it too late. I might not even live to see my court date."
Ethan staggered a step back like the words physically hit him.
"No," he murmured, breath caught. "No, no, no. Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you—"
"What would it change?" Maria said, her voice laced with painful clarity. "They’d still label a murderer. Isabella would still be placed into care. I’d still die in here, behind bars."
Ethan’s hands trembled as he held the file. He stepped forward. His voice was raw, desperate. "I will do anything to make sure you don’t spend the rest of your days in this place. I don’t care what it takes. I will not let you die in here."
Maria shook her head slowly, sadness dimming her eyes.
"You can’t get acquitted," she said softly. "Even if it was self-defense... there’s blood. There’s a motive. There’s silence. No jury will care what I ant to do. Only what I did."
Ethan stepped closer, lowering the file to his side.
"Then I won’t ask them to acquit you," he whispered. "I’ll ask them to understand you. To see you. The real you. A mother. A survivor. Not a monster."
Rafa, who had remained respectfully quiet, finally cleared his throat.
"There’s another way," he said. "A dical release. Compassionate grounds. If we act fast and prove her condition, she can be transferred to hospice."
Maria’s lip trembled. "That ans dying in a hospital bed while strangers take my daughter away."
"No," Ethan said imdiately. "You won’t be alone."
He looked at Rafa.
"We have a few moves left."
Maria opened her mouth to protest, but her strength was failing. Emotion drained her more than illness.
Ethan reached for her hand.
"Just hold on," he said, voice thick with emotion. "Just trust this ti."
For a mont—just a heartbeat—Maria didn’t fight it. She leaned into the warmth of his touch and closed her eyes.
Ethan stood abruptly from the chair, fire burning behind his eyes.
"I need to go to court. We have to file to hasten the hearing," he said, his voice sharp with purpose.
Rafael nodded, trailing after him as Maria-Isabel was quietly led away by Officer April. She didn’t look back. She couldn’t.
The two n exited the visiting room in tense silence, their steps echoing through the narrow concrete hallway that led outside. As they reached the open yard, Rafael finally broke the quiet.
"You know, I don’t like you," he said, tone even. "But I’m honestly surprised you’re doing all this. You’re not even being paid. A big-shot lawyer like you doing pro bono? That’s rare."
Ethan didn’t flinch, didn’t slow his pace. "Us working together doesn’t make us friends."
"I didn’t say it did."
Ethan turned to face him now, his jaw tight.
"I betrayed my wife," he said, his voice low, nearly gritted. "But I still want her back. Every stupid, selfish decision I made... I’m trying to fix it. And if helping Maria is the only way to earn that redemption, then I’ll do it. Even if it costs everything."
Rafa raised a brow, a wry smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Good luck with that."
Ethan stepped forward again, but then stopped suddenly and turned to Rafa once more.
"And one more thing," Ethan said, his voice edged with warning.
Rafa crossed his arms. "Yeah?"
"Don’t tell Mara about this. Not yet."
Rafa blinked. "Why not? I don’t keep secrets from my girlfriend."
Ethan stepped in close now, the air between them suddenly electric, taut.
"Well, if you want her to be constantly worried, go ahead and tell her. But if you do—" Ethan’s eyes narrowed, "—I will break your nose. Or better yet..."
He leaned in, voice dipping into sothing darker, dead serious.
"I’ll slip sothing in your drink, and let’s see how loyal you are when you wake up in bed with soone else. Then you can explain that to Mara. Trust , I won’t stop at anything to sabotage whatever you two think you’ve started."
Rafa’s smirk faded. A muscle ticked in his jaw.
"You’re out of line," he muttered.
Ethan shrugged. "I’m already a man with nothing left to lose. Don’t push ."
A few tense seconds passed—then Rafa let out a short breath and turned away with a shake of his head.
"You’re crazy."
"I’m desperate."
Rafa stopped and looked over his shoulder. "She’s not your wife anymore."
Ethan’s eyes darkened. "Maybe not. But I still have ti to beco the kind of man she could have loved. The kind Mara, could have trusted. The kind our twin might rember."
"You won’t dare," Rafael said with a scoff, eyes narrowing. "And trust —I’m not that gullible. I’ve seen naked won and didn’t flinch. You know why? Because I only have one woman on my mind."
He said it proudly, like it was a badge of honor.
Ethan rolled his eyes and turned sharply on his heel. "Yeah, right. Be that confident. We’ll see how far your loyalty takes you."
He marched toward the parking lot, his steps sharp and quick, coat flaring behind him like a cape in the fading sunlight. Rafa called after him casually.
"I’m coming with you."
Ethan paused mid-step, glancing over his shoulder.
Rafa gave a half-smile, lifting a brow. "You’re not in Salvador. Your na doesn’t carry weight here. But mine does. Judges here answer my calls—not yours."
Ethan let out a dry chuckle. "And here I thought I left the corruption in Salvador."
"No corruption," Rafa shrugged. "Just influence. And right now? You’ll need it."
Ethan opened the door to his car, keys in hand, but then Rafa added with a smirk, "I’ll ride in my car. You’re free to join if you can get past that ego of yours."
There was a long pause. Ethan looked at his keys. Then at Rafa. Then back at his own car.
He didn’t say anything.
But he walked past it.
And opened the passenger door of Rafa’s car.
Rafa’s smile twitched with amusent.
Ethan exhaled and slid in. "Don’t make regret this."
"No promises," Rafa muttered as he started the engine.
They pulled onto the road, the silence between them thick but no longer hostile.
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