Chapter 18 - THE FINAL CONFESSION
Victor was arrested before sunrise.
Nathan's trial followed months later.
The evidence was overwhelming.
He pleaded guilty to multiple charges.
Celeste received a reduced sentence for cooperation.
But she still went to prison.
She deserved to.
At Nathan's sentencing, he looked older.
Smaller.
He turned toward me.
"I loved you."
I almost laughed.
"You loved what you thought I could give you."
"I was wrong."
"Yes."
He lowered his head.
"I destroyed everything."
"No."
I looked at him.
"You destroyed yourself."
The judge delivered the sentence.
Nathan was taken away.
I watched him disappear through the courtroom doors.
For four years, I had imagined that moment would make me happy.
It didn't.
It made me free.
Outside the courthouse, reporters waited.
One shouted:
"Are you the woman who brought down Ashford Global?"
I stopped.
"No."
The reporters moved closer.
I looked toward my father.
Then my mother.
Then the cameras.
"Ashford Global brought itself down."
I smiled.
"I simply stopped protecting the man who built the lie."
The crowd erupted with questions.
I walked away.
May you like
For the first time, I didn't need to explain myself.
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