Chapter 9
The jury deliberated for three days.
Three of the longest days of my life.
I spent most of the time pacing my penthouse, checking my phone every two minutes for a call from Grace.
Mia tried to distract me with bad movies and takeout.
Lila came over every night, bringing her famous chocolate chip cookies.
But I couldn’t relax.
Not until I heard the words.
Guilty.
On the third afternoon, my phone rang.
Grace.
“They have a verdict,” she said. “We need to be at the courthouse in forty-five minutes.”
My hands shook so bad I almost dropped the phone.
Mia helped me get dressed.
Another simple black suit.
Hair pulled back.
“Whatever happens,” she said, squeezing my hand, “I’m proud of you. You did the right thing. That’s all that matters.”
The drive to the courthouse was silent.
When we walked into the courtroom, Brandon and Margaret were already there.
They looked defeated.
No more fancy clothes.
No more smug smiles.
They both looked like they hadn’t slept in a week.
The judge walked in.
The whole room stood.
“Has the jury reached a verdict?” the judge asked.
The foreman stood up.
“We have, Your Honor.”
My heart stopped.
“On the count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud against Brandon Hawthorne… how do you find?”
“Guilty.”
A breath whooshed out of me.
“On the count of wire fraud against Brandon Hawthorne… guilty.”
“On the count of breaking and entering against Brandon Hawthorne… guilty.”
“On the count of conspiracy to obstruct justice against Brandon Hawthorne… guilty.”
One by one, the foreman read the verdicts.
All twelve counts against Brandon.
Guilty.
All eight counts against Margaret.
Guilty.
Every single one.
I felt tears spill down my cheeks.
Mia squeezed my hand so tight I thought it might break.
Grace smiled, a rare, bright smile.
Brandon slumped in his chair, face ashen.
Margaret started sobbing, loud and ugly, as the bailiffs came over to cuff them both.
As they led them out of the courtroom, Brandon didn’t even look at me.
Margaret did.
For a split second, our eyes met.
And in that look, I saw everything.
Regret.
Hatred.
And finally, the realization that she’d lost.
Forever.
Two weeks later, we were back for sentencing.
The judge was harsh.
He called their crimes “calculated, cruel, and a complete betrayal of every trust placed in them.”
He sentenced Brandon to twelve years in federal prison.
No parole.
No early release.
Margaret got eight years.
Plus, they were both ordered to pay full restitution of the twelve million dollars, plus an additional five million dollars in fines and damages to me and the firm.
They’d be penniless when they got out.
If they got out.
As we walked out of the courthouse for the last time, the sun was shining.
The reporters shouted questions at me.
I stopped for a second, Mia and Grace on either side of me.
“Ms. Carter!” one yelled. “What do you want to say now that it’s all over?”
I thought for a second.
I thought of all the late nights, all the tears, all the fear.
I thought of the people who’d doubted me.
The people who’d stood beside me.
The girl I’d been five years ago, who’d thought love was enough.
The woman I was now, who knew better.
“I want to say this,” I said, looking straight into the camera. “To anyone out there who’s being used. Who’s being lied to. Who’s being told they’re crazy when they know the truth. You are not alone. You are stronger than you think. And you do not have to take it. Fight back. Speak up. Because justice is real. And it is worth fighting for.”
I turned and walked to the car.
That night, the Sterling Point board threw me a huge party at the top of the Empire State Building.
All the partners were there.
All our biggest clients.
Everyone wanted to shake my hand, to tell me how brave I’d been, how I’d saved the firm.
I smiled and thanked them.
But halfway through the night, I snuck away to the observation deck, alone.
I leaned against the railing, looking out over the city lights.
Five years ago, I’d stood on this same deck with Brandon.
He’d proposed to me right there.
I’d said yes, thinking I was the luckiest girl in the world.
I’d had no idea what was waiting for me.
But now?
I wouldn’t change a thing.
Because every terrible thing that had happened to me had led me here.
To this moment.
To this view.
To the woman I’d become.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
I turned.
It was Ethan.
Ethan Miller.
The lead forensic accountant the FBI had brought in to work on my case.
We’d spent hours together over the past three months, going through records, tracing money, talking late into the night.
He was kind.
Honest.
Funny.
And he looked at me like I was the only person in the room.
“Just thinking,” I said, smiling. “About how far I’ve come.”
He leaned against the railing beside me.
“You’ve come pretty far,” he said. “I’ve worked a lot of these cases. Most people would have crumbled. You didn’t. You fought. And you won. It’s impressive.”
I blushed.
No one had ever talked to me like that.
Not like I was equal.
Not like I was strong.
“Thanks,” I said.
He hesitated, then reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope.
“I have something for you,” he said. “It’s not evidence. It’s… well, you’ll see.”
I opened it.
Inside was a check.
Made out to me.
For two hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars.
“What is this?” I asked, confused.
“Brandon’s gambling debts,” he said. “We traced every last dollar. Most of the casinos agreed to return the funds once we proved the money was stolen. This is what’s left. All yours. No strings attached.”
I stared at the check.
Two hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars.
Money I’d earned.
Money that had been stolen from me.
Money I’d never thought I’d see again.
“Wow,” I said. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll have dinner with me tomorrow night,” he said, smiling. “No court. No evidence. No Hawthornes. Just us. What do you say?”
I looked at him.
At his kind eyes.
His easy smile.
For the first time in five years, I didn’t feel scared.
I didn’t feel like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I felt… hopeful.
“I’d like that,” I said.
He smiled.
“Great,” he said. “It’s a date.”
He walked back inside, leaving me alone with the check and the view.
I looked out over the city again.
Brandon and Margaret were gone.
The money was back.
My reputation was restored.
May you like
And for the first time in as long as I could remember?
My future was entirely my own.
