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I lay my head down, releasing my body. “I’m not in the mood.”

He strides in and pulls me up, slapping handcuffs on me. “It’s the detective. She’s not taking no for an answer.”

The metal hurts my wrist as he drags me to the same room I met Sarah Crawley the first time I was arrested. Sarah is already inside, with two cups of coffee waiting.

“You can leave us,” Sarah says as she waves him off.

He hesitates for a moment before slamming the door behind him. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”

A heavy silence fills the air as I stare at her, now that it’s just the two of us.

“How ya doing, kid?” she asks.

I ignore her and note three stools in the room with us instead of the usual two. Unclenching my jaw, I walk toward her, my wrists still bound, and I drag my feet as I go. The handcuffs are unnecessary. It’s not like I can do anything to Sarah Crawley.

She rises, grabs her keys, releases my wrists, and gestures toward the stool. I shake them out, gritting my teeth. “Sit down, Layla. We need to talk.” I sit down in front of her, my head bowed.

The door creaks open again, and Regina enters. The two women exchange a long, intense stare before Regina takes a seat on the vacant stool. She’s dressed in a black suit and high heels, which sends my nerves into a tailspin. It’s as if she’s heading to a funeral.

“What’s going on?” I ask them both. “My bail hearing isn’t supposed to be for a few hours.”

“Good news,” Sarah tells me. “The Stormwood Police Department has agreed to drop all charges.”

My head whips up. “What? Why?”

Sarah takes a sip of coffee, taking her time to answer. “Jake was agreeable to showing me the video footage in the house. The entire event was captured on camera. Based on this evidence, the precinct concluded that there was sufficient proof of the defendant acting in self-defense. He attacked you, Layla, twice. You did what you had to do. I’ve spoken with the family, and they’ve agreed to drop all charges to avoid any embarrassment.” My face drains of color at the full contents of that footage.

“So that’s it then? I can just leave?” I ask.

Sarah tilts her head. “I watched the entire video. You mentioned you had a houseguest an hour or so before the altercation. That you were under the belief that Nick Cross was in your house. That is what you said to me. That he was helping your father?”

Tears sting the back of my eyes. “He was there,” I say. “He was out back helping him cut up a tree. Then he came inside the house.”

Sarah keeps her face like stone. “Then what happened?”

“We…” Images of him slamming my head down come rushing back. “We fooled around, then he left.”

Regina grabs my hand while Sarah pulls out her phone and hands it to me. “Watch the video.”

I swallow a lump in my throat and tearfully gaze up at Regina. “I can’t.”

“Just watch, you need to see this,” Regina says.

Sarah hands me the phone, and I watch myself in the kitchen, replaying that night’s events as Beth calls my father inside. My father is alone. After Beth and Jake leave, I start to make a sandwich. Suddenly, I stop and stare at a spot on the wall, then my mouth moves as if I’m speaking to someone. Sarah hasn’t turned on the sound for the video, but I don’t need to hear it; I remember it well enough.

I twist myself on the counter, dropping my head to the countertop, slamming it on the quartz. I wince at how hard I slam my head on it, and even more as my fingers drive into my pussy and I get myself off. My eyes flutter like I’m possessed.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I can’t look at this.”

“You have to,” Regina says. “It’s important that your mind starts to decipher the truth. Now you can see what we see, your brain should start understanding the difference.”

When the video is done, I place it on the table and glance up at Sarah Crawley, whose lips are in a thin line. My body shakes. “I don’t know what to say to this. What does it mean?”

“It means Nick Cross is dead,” Sarah says. “As I’ve told you.”

I lift my gaze, settling my nerves. “I mean, what does this mean for me?”

Sarah leans back in her chair. “That’s between you and your doctor. Since there are no charges against you, I see no reason you can’t leave as soon as we’re finished here.”