For the whole night, Mike's mind spiraled around the words of his old colleague—the same man who had taken his money years ago to falsify something he never even changed, and then didn't bother to tell him about it.
Had that man reached out earlier, Mike and Jasmine could've known the truth long ago. They could've done something in those early years. Instead, the man took their money and disappeared as if it meant nothing.
Now, seated in the driver's seat, Mike didn't even know where he had parked. He just sat there, motionless, staring through the windshield with vacant eyes. His thoughts drifted through memories of Lola—every word, every glance—and the growing dread of how he would ever tell Jasmine about what he'd just learned.
*****
[Flashback]
