Chapter 15 - The Cornered Beast
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Six months later, the federal court handed down its final verdict.
Dominic Vale was sentenced to eight years in a federal correctional facility, with full order of restitution amounting to fourteen million dollars.
On the day of his sentencing, I sat in the back row of the gallery, dressed in a simple navy wool coat, watching the judge read the decree.
When the bailiffs turned Dominic around to lead him through the side door, his eyes caught mine across the crowded courtroom.
There was no anger left in his face. No arrogance. No grand speeches about hotel empires or high society.
Only a profound, terrifying emptiness.
He looked at me, then his eyes flicked down to my lap, where my hands rested flat and still. He knew that every step of his trial, every document uncovered, every asset seized had been executed with the clean, precise surgical accuracy of the woman he used to call his "decorative lamp."
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He tried to speak, but the guard tugged his arm, leading him into the dark corridor beyond the heavy oak doors.
I stood up, buttoned my coat, and walked out into the bright afternoon sunshine.
