The car ride was suffocating. I felt the ropes digging into my wrists, rubbing the skin raw. Glancing sideways, I saw Bruce, his face etched with conflicting emotions as he drove. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, wrestling with a dilemma that I couldn't quite place.
I needed to find a way to crack through his facade, to spark a flicker of realization in him, a glimpse of the person he thought he was.
"You know, Stella was right," I ventured cautiously, my voice shaky yet deliberate. "You're nothing like Timothy."
The words seemed to jolt Bruce. He shot me a quick, intense glance, his jaw tightening as if trying to suppress an eruption of emotions. "What the hell are you talking about?" His voice was sharp, cutting through the tense silence in the car.
I pressed on, sensing a crack i
