Chapter 9 - THE AFTERMATH
The trial was a media spectacle that dominated the news cycle for six months.
With Arthur’s meticulously gathered evidence from the cabin, the prosecution didn't even have to work hard. The toxicology reports matched the poison found in a private storage locker owned by Pierce. The financial routing numbers traced the stolen pension money directly to Julian’s offshore accounts.
They didn't stand a chance.
Julian was sentenced to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. Pierce, who broke down and testified against his brother in a pathetic attempt to save himself, received forty years.
I sat in the front row of the courtroom every single day of the trial. I wore tailored suits, expensive pearls, and an expression of absolute, unshakeable power. Whenever Julian looked back at me from the defense table, I made sure he saw the ghost of his father in my eyes.
When the judge struck the gavel for the final time, I walked out of the courthouse and into the bright sunlight.
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The media swarm descended, shoving microphones into my face, asking what the "billionaire widow" planned to do with the Vance empire.
I didn't answer them. I stepped into the back of my waiting town car, tapped the glass partition, and told the driver to take me to the cemetery.
