Chapter 13
The verdict came after fourteen hours.
Guilty.
Conspiracy to commit murder.
Guilty.
Attempted murder.
Guilty.
Fraud.
Guilty.
Embezzlement.
Guilty.
Forgery.
Guilty.
Trust exploitation.
Daniel gripped the table.
Vanessa sobbed before her first guilty count finished.
Marcus had already taken his deal.
Celia received probation and restitution for cooperation, but lost all trust privileges permanently.
At sentencing, I spoke.
“My cousin did not only try to kill me,” I said. “He tried to inherit my silence.”
Daniel looked down.
“Vanessa did not slap a stranger in the lobby. She slapped the person she believed she had erased.”
Vanessa cried harder.
I continued.
“My grandfather built locks into this resort because he understood that wealth attracts people who smile while stealing keys. Those locks saved me. But justice must do what locks cannot. It must name the crime.”
Daniel received decades.
Vanessa too.
Not the same.
Enough.
Marcus received prison.
Vanessa’s father lost his legal license and faced charges for his role.
The protected coastline was restored fully to the trust.
Outside court, reporters shouted.
I said one thing.
“The Somor Grand is no longer run by fear.”
Then I went back to the resort.
May you like
Not to celebrate.
To sleep in my grandfather’s office with the founder badge in my hand.
