Prison life

The cell grew colder as the hours passed, and Rene sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the bars in front of him as he tried to reconstruct in his mind what had happened in those chaotic hours that brought him here.

His thoughts kept backtracking to Maria... her silence, her coolness, and finally, her apparent betrayal. The jingle of keys and heavy footsteps of an approaching guard drew him out of this trance.

"Flores," the jailer called out. "Get up. Somebody posted your bail."

When Rene looked up to stare at the guard, his face held confusion, and he mumbled, "Bail? But who?"

"Don't ask me. Just get your stuff and be grateful that someone has 25,000 to waste on someone like you," the jailer replied and unlocked the cell door.

Slowly, Rene stood to his feet, feeling both relieved and suspicious. He followed the guard back to the processing area, where they returned his clothes.

Slipping out of the orange jumpsuit, he felt a strange sense of normalcy return as he put on his cloth