Page 56 of Symphony for Lies

His lips curved into a smirk. “I see…”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason.”

“No, really. What does it matter? Does this have anything to do with the case?”

He shook his head. “Not this case, no. But for my case, it’s relevant.”

That threw me off completely.

Spencer’s gaze drifted toward Zane, who was standing a few feet away, watching us with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

“Mr. Cole gave me a different answer.”

Wait, what?

My lips parted, but the words got stuck somewhere between my ribs and my throat.

What was Zane’s answer? And why did Spencer sound so damn smug about it?

Forcing my voice to work, I asked, “What answer did he give you?”

Spencer’s smirk didn’t fade. “Can’t tell you.”

I rolled my eyes.“Whatever. We have bigger problems right now.”

His shoulders shook slightly with amusement.“Oh, much bigger problems.”

“Why are you grinning like that?”

“No reason.” His expression shifted, his playfulness fading into something more serious. “You checked my message, right?”

Still reeling from the Zane conversation, I hesitated for half a second but nodded.“Yeah. I need more time to decode the message. Something feels off. Like a piece is missing.”

Automatically, his gaze flicked toward the bag. “Maybe the missing piece is in there.”

The weight of possibility settled deep in my chest.

Spencer gave my shoulder a firm squeeze.“I’ll go through all of it. I’ll handle the paperwork and make sure the school is informed. You just focus on getting home safe.”

I nodded gratefully. “Thank you for trusting me, Spencer.”

His brows lifted slightly. “How could I not?”

A small smile pulled at my lips. “We’ll talk soon.”

I turned, walking toward Zane, Simon, and Jade.

The kids looked exhausted.

Zane was still watching me. But not in the way he usually did. There was something else in his gaze.Something less challenging, something I couldn’t quite place.

When I reached him, he didn’t ask any questions. He just said quietly, “I’ll drive you home.”

It wasn’t a demand. It was almost a question. A request. An invitation.

I let the silence stretch between us for a second. “I just need to grab my stuff. Then we can go.”

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