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185 Is This A Trap?
185 Is This A Trap?
(Winona)
My heart is in my throat as we're led to the private room where Ashlyn is waiting.
Jayden's hand brushes mine, a silent gesture of reassurance, but it does little to calm the storm of emotions
churning inside me. I'm here, but every fiber of my being is tellingthis is a mistake.
| can't shake the feeling that this is skind of trap. I've been lured in but somehow I'm the bait as well.
We enter the room, and there she is. Ashlyn. She's sitting at a small table, her hands cuffed behind her. There's a
guard posted by the door, his presence a stark reminder of where we are. Ashlyn looks different-impossibly
thinner, paler-and her eyes don't have that slook.
She remindsof that teen, three years younger than me, that | first spoke to because she was sitting alone. |
must be careful. She is far from that person, no matter what act she's perfected right now. "Winona, | didn't
know you were coming," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yeah, surprise," | answer flatly.
"Thank you." Her tone is not the same.
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Jayden and | sit down across from her, and my skin prickles with unease. Every instinct | have is screaming at me
to get out of here, but | can't. Not yet
Jayden's voice is calm, steady. "What do you need to say, Ashlyn?"
She glances at the guard, and then back at Jayden. 1 can't talk freely with him here. | don't trust anyone here."
Here we go. Trying to make us feel sorry for her. Fat chance.
Jayden pulls out his wallet and hands the guard a thick wad of cash. "Give us sprivacy."
The guard hesitates for a moment, and Jayden hands him more cash. Then he nods. "Five minutes."
"Ten." Jayden counters,
The guard nods and closes the door behind him. We're alone with her now, and though she's handcuffed, | don't
trust her for a second.
"So, what's this about?"
told Jayden in the text."
"Oh, the baby story. Con, Ashlyn. How stupid do you think we are? We know there's no baby. How can there
be?"
She looks down at her hands, silent for a long moment. Too long. | don't like it. It feels calculated, like she's
trying to draw us in, make us wait, make us anxious. And it's working Jayden reaches out, placing his hand on
the table. "Ashlyn, just say what you need to say. And stop with
the lies."
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185 Is This A Trap?
She finally looks up, her eyes meeting his. "| am pregnant. | don't know how. But despite everything the baby
has survived, and | want this baby to have a good life." She looks dead serious.
"Why would you want the baby to have a good life now? If you knew you were pregnant when you went down
those stairs, you didn't care you were risking the baby's life."
"| thought I'd miscarried. | thought if | wasn't then | would never keep Jayden and | couldn't stay married to him,
you weren't getting him either."
Her words hang like a noose around my neck. | can't breathe.
| narrow my eyes, suspicion boiling over. "How do we know you're telling the truth? Is this another one of your
twisted games?"
Her eyes flicker. "I'm not lying, Winona. | can prove it."
"Prove it, then," | snap. | don't care if I'm being harsh. This is Ashlyn we're talking about. I'm not giving her
an inch.
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She hesitates again, and | feel the tension between us tighten. Jayden's face is unreadable, but | can sense the
turmoil inside him. He doesn't want to believe her any more than | do, but there's a part of him that's worried
she's telling the truth. And that scaresmore than anything.
"| can't prove it until you agree with my proposal. | can't let anyone in here know yet."
"Why tell us now?" | ask, my voice cold. "Why not just keep playing your games from behind these walls?"
Ashlyn looks directly at me, her gaze piercing. "Because this isn't a game, Winona. This is real. And I'm scared. |
don't want Judy to have any influence over my baby. She controlledfor so long. She's not getting her hands
on this baby."
My heart skips a beat at the mention of Judy. | knew it. | knew she had to be involved in this somehow. But | don't
let it show. | keep my face blank, my voice steady. "So, you're scared of Judy now? After everything? That doesn't
make sense."
"Yes," she whispers, her voice trembling for the first time. "I want my baby to be happy. | can't be a proper
mother to it. Not in here. Not even out of here. But the baby has got this far, the least | can do is this."
| exchange a glance with Jayden, but I'm not sure what to believe. Is this the real Ashlyn?
"I don't trust you, Ashlyn," | continue. "And | never will. But if you're telling the truth-if you really are pregnant-
what are you going to do?"
Ashlyn nods slowly, her expression unreadable. 1 don't deserve your trust. But I'm asking for your help. As a
mother. For the child, Jayden's child. Not for me."
God help me, the mother inactually believes her.
185 Desperate Banan
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