Chapter 9 - The Verdict
The verdict came down at four in the afternoon.
"Guilty."
The word echoed through the courtroom like a bell tolling for the end of an era.
Victoria Thorne was led away in handcuffs.
She didn't cry.
She didn't scream.
She just looked at me, a flicker of something—regret?—in her eyes before the door closed behind her.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
It wasn't just the verdict; it was the finality of it.
The Thorne empire was crumbling, but I was building something new.
I walked out of the courtroom, the sun hitting me in the face.
I wasn't just Emily Parker anymore.
I was the woman who had brought down a titan.
And I was the mother of a child who would never know the cold, calculating greed of the Thorne legacy.
May you like
I hailed a taxi, headed toward the small apartment, and felt the weight of the last few months lift.
I was free.
