“You were a liability,” Margaret spat at me. “Daniel deserved it all. We had to save the business from you.”
The judge banged his gavel and looked at my face. “Silence! This evidence is overwhelming.”
“Officers, take Daniel and Margaret into custody immediately,” the judge ordered as I watched.
“Wait! I can explain everything,” Daniel shouted as I turned away. “I did it because I loved the company,” he pleaded with me.
“It was Margaret’s idea,” he told me.
“You had six years to explain,” the judge said to my former husband. “I am ending this nightmare right now.”
“I vacate all charges against the defendant,” the judge declared for my benefit.
Lily ran to me and threw her arms around my neck. “Mom, I am so sorry I didn’t believe you,” she sobbed in my ear.
Noah grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. “I told you, Mom. I told you we could find the truth,” he whispered to me.
“We finally did,” I said to my children. “I only wanted my life back,” I told Daniel as they led him away.
I stood tall and walked toward the exit with my children.
The labels of the past six years fell away as we stepped into the light of the courthouse steps.
