Max's POV
The office was quiet — too quiet.
The kind of quiet that followed chaos.
I sat behind my desk, the faint hum of the city seeping through the glass walls, trying to drown out the echo of Alissa's voice in my head. Her crocodile tears. Her trembling hands were clutching her belly while she told the world that Maddy had "attacked" her in broad daylight.
A lie.
A damn, stupid, reckless lie.
I'd seen the videos. I'd seen Maddy's face — shocked, pale, desperate to explain while strangers shouted abuse at her.
And for the first time in months, guilt clawed at my chest like fire.
She hadn't deserved that. Not Maddy. She was not like that; she was not a mean girl. She had a heart of gold. Pure gold.
The door burst open before I could think more. Alissa stormed
