ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

JOCELIA'S POV

I walked back into the courtroom, my nerves steeled for what was to come. I took my seat next to Grayson, who barely acknowledged me. The tension was palpable, but I kept my face composed. The judge entered, and the courtroom fell silent as he began to address us.

As he spoke, I glanced at Sylvia. She looked nervous, but there was a glimmer of determination in her eyes. I shifted my focus to Julia, who seemed equally tense. Finally, the judge looked at me, then at Grayson. Grayson leaned forward slightly in his seat, a subtle but intense warning. It unsettled me, but I pushed the feeling aside, confident that I still had the judge in my pocket.

The judge continued, "After much deliberation of the evidence presented, this court has reached a verdict." He looked at Julia, then at Sylvia. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Finally, he said, "Sylvia has been proven innocent of all charges laid against her."

For a moment, I couldn’t process what I had just heard