Bound By Lies - Rafe Cameron

Chapter 59

The gavel comes down with a sharp crack, and the judge's voice echoes through the courtroom. "Court is dismissed. We will reconvene tomorrow at 9 a.m."

There's a beat of silence, a moment of stillness, and then all hell breaks loose.

"You lying bitch!" Kiara's voice cuts through the air like a whip, and I flinch, my heart seizing painfully as I slowly lift my head to look at them—the people I once called friends, the people I just betrayed.

JJ is on his feet, his face flushed with anger, his eyes blazing. "How could you?!" he shouts, his voice thick with rage and disbelief. "How the fuck could you do this to us? To John B?"

"JJ, stop it!" Sarah tries to grab his arm, but he shakes her off, taking a step toward me, his whole body trembling with barely controlled fury.

"You're going to rot in hell, Teresa!" he screams, his face red with fury. "How can you even look at yourself after what you did? How can you—"

My breath catches, my hands clenching tightly in my lap as I stare at the ground, trying to block out his words, trying to keep myself from falling apart. But it's impossible. The weight of their betrayal—their anger—is suffocating.

"You're a fucking traitor, Teresa!" he screams, pointing a shaking finger at me, his face contorted with rage. "You sold us out for him?!"

Pope's voice rings out next, calm but deadly, like a knife cutting through the chaos. "You know what you just did, Teresa? You just destroyed the one shot we had to clear John B's name. You ruined his life. For what? For Rafe Cameron?"

I open my mouth, but no words come out. What could I say? That I did it for love? That I did it because I couldn't live without Rafe, even if it meant destroying them? They'd never understand. They'd never believe me.

"Say something, you coward!" JJ roars, and suddenly he's moving toward me, his face twisted in rage.

"JJ, stop!" Sarah cries, grabbing at him, but it's too late. He's right in front of me, his breath hot and ragged as he glares down at me, his eyes wild.

"Step back!" one of the guards shouts, stepping forward and grabbing JJ by the arm, yanking him away. He struggles, cursing and thrashing, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Get the fuck off me!" JJ snarls, trying to twist out of the guard's grip, but they hold firm, dragging him back as he shouts obscenities at me, his voice filled with nothing but venom.

I stay frozen, my entire body trembling, my eyes locked on JJ's enraged face, until—

Yank.

Pain explodes at the back of my scalp as my head jerks back, and a choked cry escapes my lips. Kiara's fingers are tangled in my hair, her grip tight and unrelenting. She pulls again, and I gasp, my vision blurring with tears as I reach up, instinctively trying to pry her fingers away.

"You—fucking—traitor!" she screams, her voice high and shrill, filled with a pain that cuts me to my core. "How could you? You were supposed to be our friend!"

"Let go!" I cry out, my voice breaking, but she just pulls harder, yanking my head back until I'm staring up at her furious, tear-streaked face. "Kiara—"

"Enough!" another guard shouts, shoving her back roughly. She stumbles, her hand ripping free from my hair, and I gasp in relief, my scalp throbbing.

But before I can even catch my breath, Rafe's voice booms through the room, louder and more terrifying than I've ever heard it.