CHAPTER 14 — THE COURTROOM
Eight months later, the courtroom was full.
Reporters occupied every seat.
Former Bellamy employees stood along the back wall.
Ryan sat with his family.
Marissa sat beside the wedding planner’s association attorney.
My father held my newborn daughter while I testified.
Her name was Hope Nicholas Ashcroft.
Hope for the life ahead.
Nicholas for the brother whose truth had finally been heard.
Dominic refused to look at me as I described the wedding reception.
The torn dress.
The false accusation.
The forged signatures.
The miscarriage.
When the prosecutor displayed photographs from my therapy appointments, several jurors looked toward Dominic with disgust.
Eleanor showed no emotion.
Chloe cried continuously, but her tears stopped whenever the jury looked away.
Samuel appeared older after months in custody.
Grant testified against all of them.
The evidence was overwhelming.
Samuel was convicted of financial crimes, conspiracy, evidence destruction, and offenses connected to Nicholas’s death.
Eleanor was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, poisoning, obstruction, and pension theft.
Chloe was convicted of theft, fraud, conspiracy, and participation in the medication tampering.
Dominic pleaded guilty to forgery, conspiracy, financial fraud, evidence concealment, and obstruction.
At sentencing, he asked permission to speak.
He turned toward me.
“I spent years telling myself I was trapped by my family. The truth is, I chose them every time.”
The courtroom remained silent.
“I chose money when I met Vivienne. I chose fear after we lost our baby. I chose cowardice at the wedding.”
His voice shook.
“I loved her, but I treated love like something I could betray and still keep.”
I felt sadness.
But no desire to return.
The judge sentenced him to prison.
Eleanor received the longest sentence.
As officers led her away, she looked at my daughter.
For one terrible second, hatred crossed her face.
My father stepped protectively in front of Hope.
Eleanor smiled at me.
“You think your family is clean now?”
I stood.
“No family is clean.”
Her smile faded.
“The difference is that mine finally stopped hiding the dirt.”
Outside the courthouse, hundreds of Bellamy employees waited.
They were not there to defend Dominic’s family.
They were there because the restored pension fund had returned every stolen dollar.
One woman hugged me.
“My husband can retire now.”
A hotel housekeeper handed me a small bouquet.
“You didn’t punish us for what they did.”
“They wanted people to believe power meant never paying a price,” I said. “They were wrong.”
My father placed Hope in my arms.
Reporters shouted questions.
Then one asked whether I planned to become the next CEO of Ashcroft International.
I looked at my father.
He smiled.
“The board votes tomorrow.”
I looked down at my daughter.
For the first time, the future did not frighten me.
But before we could leave, Amanda approached with an unopened envelope.
“I found this in Chloe’s storage unit,” she said.
“It’s addressed to Nicholas.”
May you like
The handwriting belonged to Dominic’s father.
End of Chapter 14…
