The courtroom was silent.
Santiago sat in the back row, his eyes fixed on Amara as she stepped onto the witness stand—not as a forense's wife, but as the accused.
She looked different. Not scared, not broken. Just tired. Like someone carrying too many secrets for too long.
The judge adjusted his glasses. "Are you ready to speak the truth, Mrs. Reyes?"
Amara took a breath. "Yes."
She glanced at Santiago—just for a moment. Then she looked straight ahead.
"Five years ago, I worked as a hospital assistant. I was approached by a man named Esteban Ramírez. He asked me to change patient records—names, blood types, toxicology reports. In exchange, he paid off my family's medical debt."
A wave of whispers filled the room.
"I didn't know the full extent at first," she continued. "But eventually… I realized I was helping cover up murders."
Tears welled in Santiago's eyes.
The judge nodded slowly. "And are you willing to give us everything you know?"
"Yes," Amara whispered. "Every name. Every file. Every location."
"Then the court will consider conditional freedom under supervised monitoring," he declared. "If your testimony holds."
Later, outside the courtroom, Santiago waited in the hallway. Emma walked up to him, suitcase in hand.
"I wanted to say goodbye," she said quietly.
Santiago turned, unsure of what to say.
"You're not the man I first met," Emma said. "You're stronger now. But also heavier."
He looked down.
"She's your story now," Emma added. "And I'm just a page."
She gave him a small smile—soft, bittersweet—and walked away, leaving Santiago alone in the echoing corridor.
That night, Santiago stood outside the courthouse, staring at the stars. Everything he thought he knew about love, justice, and truth had been rewritten.
And somehow… it was only the beginning.