Chapter 9: The Aftermath
Chapter 9: The Aftermath
The trial was a media circus, but I didn't have to endure it alone. Damian sat behind me every single day in court.
When it was my turn to testify, I took the stand and looked directly at Victor in his orange jumpsuit. I detailed every threat, every manipulation, and every illegal transaction I had uncovered during my time in his inner circle. I didn't cry. I didn't falter. I spoke with the clarity and precision of a woman who had meticulously planned her own salvation.
The jury deliberated for less than four hours.
Guilty on all forty-two counts of fraud, embezzlement, and coercion. The judge handed down a sentence of sixty-five years in federal prison without the possibility of parole. As the bailiffs dragged Victor away, he looked back at me one last time. There was no anger left in his eyes, only a vast, empty realization of his own defeat.
I walked out of the courthouse and into the bright afternoon sun. The press was waiting, cameras flashing, microphones thrust in my direction.
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"Serena! Serena! What will you do now?" a reporter shouted over the din.
I turned back to look at Damian, who was leaning against a black town car, watching me with a look of pure, unrestrained devotion. "I'm going to reclaim my life," I answered the reporter. "And build an empire of my own."
