Chapter 17%
Alessia was finished. The courtroom was suffocating, filled with reporters, businessmen, and vultures in designer suits waiting for the final blow.
She sat there, shackled, her once–pristine appearance now a shadow of itself. In her place was someone desperate, haggard, and feral with rage. Her lawyer made one last attempt, but it was useless: The evidence was stacked against her like an avalanche.X
sat at the back, legs crossed, expression unreadable as the judge delivered the verdict.
“Alessia Carter, for attempted murder, fraud, and conspiracy, this court sentences you to twenty years in federal prison.” The gavel slammed down. The final nail in her coffin. Gasps rippled through the courtroom, but I remained still, watching.
Alessia didn’t react at first. She just sat there, frozen in disbelief. It was almost amusing–the way her smug face. crumbled, how her carefully curated world shattered.
Then, all at once, it hit her.”
“NO!” she shricked, trying to rise, but the guards forced her back down. “NO, YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!“}
Her frantic eyes searched the crowd until they landed on him.
“Lothario!” she wailed, voice raw. “Lothario, help me!
He sat a few rows ahead, silent and motionless. He didn’t even flinch. I watched as realization dawned in her eyes. Lothario wasn’t going to save her!
Her voice turned shrill. “You love me! DO SOMETHING
Nothing. Lothario stared straight ahead, jaw clenched, hands gripping his thighs so tightly his knuckles turned white. That’s when she saw the truth. She had lost him. She had lost everything.”
Alessia’s gaze snapped to me, her face twisting with hatred. “You did this,” she spat. “You ruined me!”
I tilted my head, amusement curling at my lips. “I thought you did that all by yourself?”
Her body trembled. The guards dragged her toward the exit, but she fought them every step of the way.!!
I’LL KILL YOU, PEARL!” she screamed. TLL GET OUT OF HERE! I SWEAR I’LL-“R
The doors slammed shut. Silence. I let out a slow exhale. And just like that, Alessia Carter was nothing more than a ghost of my past.”
It didn’t take long for Taurus and me to rise to the top. Alessia’s scandal tainted her former alliances, leaving a power vacuum. We filled that gap–swiftly and ruthlessly. Within months, our names dominated every headline.!
Cressida Lancaster & Taurus Sullivan: The New King and Queen of Business.
I flipped through the articles, amused.
“I always knew you had a thing for power,” Taurus drawled beside me, lounging on my office couch.
I smirked. “And you didn’t?”
His blue eyes gleamed. “Oh, I do. But I like watching you enjoy it.”
His voice dropped lower. “I like watching you win.”
me as an
A warmth spread through me. Taurus had always been a force of his own, but unlike Lothario, he never saw n accessory. He saw me as his equal. And that made him dangerous in the best way.
“You know,” he mused, swirling his whiskey, “we’re officially the most feared couple in the industry.”
I leaned back in my chair, eyes glinting “Good.”
Taurus chuckled, standing. He moved toward me, placing both hands on the arms of my chair, caging me in.
“What about being the most loved woman in the industry?” he murmured, lips inches from mine.
My breath hitched!
Texhaled slowly “That depends“!
His brow lifted “On72
I smirked. “Are you planning to make me love you, Sullivan?”
His fingers brushed my jaw, voice deep and unwavering E
“Oh, sweetheart,” he murmured, eyes dark with promise. “I already have“:
My father waen’t th
My father wasn’t the type to apologize. But tonight, as we sat in his study, the weight of our past between us, he finally
did..
“I made mistakes,” Alexander admitted, fingers drumming against his whiskey glass.!!
I arched a brow. “You? Admitting a mistake?”
A rare smirk ghosted his lips. “Don’t get used to it.“%
I chuckled.
Then, his face softened. “I should have been there for you.“R
For a moment, I said nothing. Then, I shrugged. “I don’t regret it.“%
His brows furrowed. “You don’t?“”
I leaned back, crossing my legs. “If I hadn’t suffered, I wouldn’t have become her.”
Alexander studied me for a long moment. Then he nodded. “I’m proud of you, Pearl.”
A strange warmth bloomed in my chest. It was the first time he had ever said those words.!!
Then I decided to visit Alessia in prison. Not out of guilt. Not out of sympathy. Out of curiosity.
When they brought her into the visitation room, I barely recognized her. Her once–glossy hair hung in limp strands around her gaunt face. The arrogant spark in her eyes had dimmed, replaced by something hollow.X
She looked at me.
I tilled my head, smirking. “Not quite the luxury life you imagined, huh?”
Her lips parted, but no words came.N
I leaned forward, elbows on the table. “You lost, Alessia. It’s over.”
A small, broken laugh escaped her. “I should have killed you.“!
I shrugged. “You tried.”
Her fingers curled into fists. “You stole everything from me.”
I arched an eyebrow. “I stole from you?”
She glared.”
I sighed dramatically. “God, you really never learned, did you?” She didn’t respond.
I stood, pushing my chair back. “Enjoy your cell, Alessia.”
She stiffened.
I gave her one last glance, my eyes gleaming.
“I already forgot about you.”
Then I walked away.
And this time, I never looked back.
