CHAPTER 199

FOLLOWING WEEKS LATER, a thick layer of anticipation hanging in the air as the final hearing of Justin's lawsuit loomed ahead the courtroom that was buzzed with tension.

This was it—the culmination of months of preparation, anxiety, and sleepless nights. I sat in my chair, the wooden bench beneath me hard and uncomfortable, but nothing could match the steely resolve I felt inside. Today, I was determined to watch Justin fall.

Jack, my lawyer, stood beside me, meticulously going over his notes. Across the room, Justin and his lawyer whispered in hurried conversation, their faces unreadable but laced with the kind of arrogance I'd come to despise. The judge, a stern-faced woman in her sixties, called for a brief recess to review the final pieces of evidence presented by both sides.

I exhaled slowly, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. I wasn’t going to let Justin win this. Not after everything he’d put me through.

“Miss Margarette,” Jack leaned down and whispered in my ear, “we’ve got t