Chapter 9: Total Ruin
Justice is a dish best served absolutely cold, and the verdict was freezing. The jury deliberated for less than three hours. When the foreperson read the decision, Victoria collapsed into her chair. Guilty on all counts of wire fraud, attempted kidnapping, and extortion.
The judge looked down from the bench with absolute disgust. “Victoria Thorne, your actions represent a chilling lack of empathy and a profound level of sociopathic greed. You targeted a vulnerable child to execute a financial crime. I sentence you to fifteen years in federal prison, without the possibility of early parole.”
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As the bailiffs clamped the heavy metal cuffs around her wrists, Victoria looked back at the gallery, her eyes frantically searching for Brandon. He was standing near the back doors, his posture tall and unyielding. He didn't offer her a final word or a look of pity. He simply turned his back and walked out into the bright American sunlight, leaving her to the darkness she had created for herself.
Her family’s remaining assets were seized to pay back the stolen funds and legal fees. The high-society world erased her name from their registries, acting as if she had never existed. The absolute ruin she had tried to inflict upon an innocent child had rebounded with tenfold velocity, wiping her off the map.
