Chapter 9
The trial took eight months to begin.
By then, my cheek had healed.
My marriage had not.
Dominic offered a plea on the theft charges.
The prosecutor rejected the first deal.
Naomi rejected every civil settlement that required silence.
“No confidentiality,” I said.
She smiled.
“My favorite sentence.”
Serena flipped first.
She testified that Dominic promised her the store after the divorce.
She said Evelyn helped plan it.
She said Dominic told her I was “too soft to fight.”
That line made me laugh in court.
The judge looked at me.
I apologized.
Barely.
Dominic stared like he hated me more for surviving than for accusing him.
Evelyn testified badly.
She denied everything until her emails appeared.
Then she claimed she was protecting family assets.
The prosecutor asked, “From whom?”
Evelyn looked at me.
No answer.
Because the answer was me.
The woman whose father built the empire they wanted.
When I testified, the courtroom was packed.
I told them about the store.
My father.
The marriage.
The children.
The slap.
The second slap.
The moment I saw Serena smiling.
Dominic’s attorney asked, “Why didn’t you leave after the first slap?”
I leaned toward the microphone.
“Because the building was mine.”
A few people inhaled.
He tried again.
“Were you angry?”
“Yes.”
“Vengeful?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I wanted safety. Justice. And my children’s inheritance protected from a man who mistook access for ownership.”
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The jury listened.
Dominic looked away.
