Chapter 18 - The Final TrialThe trial lasted six months.
Six months of headlines.
Six months of accusations.
Northbridge executives blamed each other.
Mom admitted to financial crimes.
Steve confessed to fraud and obstruction.
Daniel testified.
Lucy testified.
Harold testified.
Even my father testified.
And then came my turn.
The prosecutor looked at me.
“You received millions of dollars.”
“Yes.”
“You controlled Northbridge.”
“Not willingly.”
“You accessed confidential files.”
“Yes.”
“You released them.”
“Yes.”
“You benefited from the company's collapse.”
“No.”
The prosecutor raised an eyebrow.
“I lost almost everything.”
“Except the house.”
I smiled bitterly.
“The house was never the point.”
He looked at the jury.
“Then what was?”
I looked at the courtroom.
“My father spent his life building a machine.”
I paused.
“My mother spent years feeding it.”
“Steve helped operate it.”
“Others used it.”
“And I inherited the switch.”
Nobody moved.
“I could have kept the money.”
“I could have hidden the evidence.”
“I could have walked away.”
“But that would have made me exactly like them.”
The prosecutor sat down.
My defense attorney stood.
“We have one final witness.”
I turned.
My father entered the courtroom.
The room erupted.
He walked slowly to the stand.
The judge stared at him.
“You have been legally deceased for nine years.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you remain hidden?”
He looked toward me.
“Because I believed exposing the company required one final sacrifice.”
The judge frowned.
“Whose?”
“My daughter's.”
The room went silent.
I closed my eyes.
He admitted everything.
He had manipulated the trust.
He had deceived my mother.
He had allowed me to suffer.
He had built a fortune through illegal means.
And he had decided that the only person capable of ending Northbridge was me.
The judge asked:
“Do you regret it?”
My father looked at me.
“Yes.”
It was the first time I had ever seen him cry.
The verdict came three weeks later.
I was cleared.
Mom was sentenced.
Steve received decades.
Daniel was given a reduced sentence because of his cooperation.
Harold disappeared before sentencing.
My father accepted prison.
Northbridge was dismantled.
The assets were sold.
The money recovered.
And the house?
The court confirmed it was legally mine.
For the first time in months, I went home.
I opened the front door.
Silence.
Peace.
Mine.
I walked into the library.
The sun came through the windows.
Then I noticed something beneath the floorboard.
A second envelope.
I stared at it.
Another letter from Dad.
This one was dated three days before the trial.
I opened it.
One sentence.
May you like
Jenny, if you're reading this, I never told you the truth about your birth.
My hands went cold.
