Chapter 10 - ASHES TO DUST
The courtroom was silent as the judge read the sentencing.
I sat in the front row, wearing a sharp, tailored suit. The burns on my face had healed into faint, silvery scars—badges of survival that I no longer felt the need to hide with makeup.
Ryan stood before the judge in a bright orange jumpsuit, looking hollow and aged. He refused to look at me.
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"Ryan Lawson, on the counts of federal money laundering, conspiracy, and aggravated assault, you are hereby sentenced to thirty-five years in federal prison, without the possibility of parole."
The gavel banged. The sound echoed in my chest, breaking the final invisible chain that tied me to him. As the bailiffs led him away in shackles, he finally cast a glance back at me. There was no smug smile. There was no arrogance. There was only the terrifying realization of his new reality. I didn't smile back. I simply turned and walked out of the courtroom, into the bright sunlight.
