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"Gordon!" I gasped and pressed my hand to my lips. My gaze flickered to Jill, and I let out a deep breath. I really needed to learn how to use my inside voice more often.

"Wait, you mean the gifts were from Gordon?" I whispered, and Irene nodded.

"Well, the first set was from Bane and me, but Mr Graff saw how happy you were, so he decided to continue it without telling you." She admitted.

"Oh... oh wow," I breathed.

So all the times I thought we were playing Bane and Irene, I was actually the one being played.

"I hope you're not mad. Maybe I should have let Mr Graff tell you instead. It would have been better if you had heard it from him first. But we really didn't mean any harm." Irene quickly explained, worrying etched in her face.

"No. I actually find it hilarious. To think Gordon was actually the one that convinced me to keep playing you and Bane. I can't believe he'd go behind my back like that. How did I not notice?" I giggled, shaking my head.

"It wasn't your fault. Mr Graff can be a very good actor if need be." 

"Hopefully for his sake, he's also good at giving explanations too," I snorted.

"Explanation for what?" Gordon said as he walked into the hospital room. 

"Oh, you're back. Perfect time. We need to talk." I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. His gaze flickered from me to Irene, who was trying not to laugh and back to me.

"I feel like I'm in trouble," he laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"You don't know the half of it," Irene chuckled, walking towards him and patting his arm. "Poor soul. Good luck, Mr Graff. You're going to need it."

"Wait? For what? What did I do?" He rushed after her, but she only responded with a smile and shut the door behind her.

I cleared my throat, and he stiffened and slowly turned around.

"Hi, darling," he grinned as he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Don't 'hi, darling' me. I huffed as he pulled me against his chest. "I can't believe you played me like that."

"Me? Play you? I would never dare."

"But you did. Why didn't you tell me the gifts were from you and not Irene and Bane? You tricked me, making me think we were tricking them. I can't believe you did that," I pouted, resting my hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, but remember things were still tense between us. You were always really excited whenever we showed each other any of their 'attempts' to get us together, and it was only one of the few times we could talk without it ending in an argument. I was so starved of your presence that I was desperate to get your attention any way," he confessed, and my face softened.

"Oh... I didn't know that's how you felt," I whispered.

"I'm sorry that I deceived you." 

"I'm not really mad. I actually find it funny. The player was actually played," I giggled and pecked his lips. "And I will never make you feel like you have to use tricks to get my attention again. I'm all yours. If you want to give me a gift, you can give it directly."

"You don't have to tell me twice." He smiled and swooped in for a gentle kiss.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

Two years later

"All rise for the Honourable Judge Diana Leslie," the bailiff's voice boomed through the courtroom.

I clutched Gordon's hand as we stood up, my heart banging in my chest.

This was it.

The moment was finally here.

Judge Diana Leslie took her seat, her gaze cold as ice swept across the entire room and pushed her round glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Please be seated," she spoke into her microphone, and I let out a shaky breath as we did.

My gaze flickered to Paul in his bright orange jumpsuit. His face was blank and emotionless, unlike Thomas, who was trembling and shifting in his seat. The only trace of nerves was his endless swallowing.

I had to hand it to him; not once in this case had he ever let his fear or worry show. But it didn't matter. Justice was going to prevail.

"The court has thoroughly reviewed the cases brought against Mr Thomas Graff and Mr Paul Graff by the Federal Republic of Marinena." Judge Diana spoke, and I turned my attention to her. "The court has also weighed the circumstances established by the vast evidence and the factors the jury has found in the punishment against the crime. With this, the court has no reason to not go in accordance with the sentencing given by the jury. May the defendant Thomas Graff come to the podium."

Thomas practically leapt off his chair, the handcuffs around his wrists and ankles jangling as he shuffled to the podium.

He stood straight, holding his breath as the judge flipped through the files.

"As pertaining to the counts brought against the defendant, Mr Thomas Graff, the court finds the defendant guilty of racketeering conspiracy under the RICO Act for your active participation and work within Paul’s criminal syndicate; extortion and coercion for threatening the lives of Irene’s family to force her to poison Iris; domestic violence for the physical assault and domestic abuse perpetrated against your wife Blair Adams; and extortion and blackmail for threatening the life of Iris Adams in an attempt to coerce her into helping assassinate Paul Graff. But in light of your assistance with the FBI in taking down Paul Graff, the court sentenced you to fifteen years in federal prison." 

"F... fifteen years..." Thomas croaked; he collapsed against the podium, using it to hold his weight. "No... fifteen years is too much. I... I..."

"Please, return to your seat, Mr Thomas Graff."

"No! You... you can't do this to me. Please... I can't spend fifteen years with… with criminals," he begged, tears welling up in his eyes, but Judge Diana's attention was in the file in front of her.

"Mr Th—"

"I... I did everything they asked. I did everything. You can't send me to jail when I cooperated. I... I... No! This isn't—"

"Marshals, escort the defendant out of my courtroom," she commanded without sparing him a glance as she pushed up her glasses.

"No! Don't touch me!" He screamed, stumbling away from the two large officers, and his gaze met mine. 

"Iris!" His yelled and he ran towards me, but the officers tackled him.

Gordon wrapped his arm around me, using his body to shield me.

"No! Let me go! Tell them Iris! Tell them I helped you. Tell them this isn't fucking fair!" He barked, struggling as he was dragged away. "No! This isn’t fucking fair! No!"

"Well, that was... um... not surprising at all," I muttered once he was out of the courtroom.

"Trust Thomas to be dramatic. What was he expecting? That he would walk away with a small slap on his wrist." Gordon snorted, rubbing my shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I—"

"May the defendant, Mr Paul Graff, come to the podium." Judge Diana said, and I leaned forward.

Paul trudged to the podium, head held high and face neutral, like this was a normal Tuesday, not a moment that would change the course of his life forever.

"By the decision of the court, the defendant, Paul Graff, is found guilty of the following counts," she said, and I swallowed, clutching my purse. "Count one, bribery of a public official to cover up crimes and sabotage a high-stakes plan. Count two, fraud and falsification of the will of Jerald and Willow Tindale. Count three, sex and labour trafficking of women and minors. Count four, attempted murder of a federal witness, Iris Adams. Count five, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction to disrupt FBI operations. For these crimes, the court sentences you to life imprisonment."

I scrunched my brows and pursed my lips. For these crimes? What about the others? The verdict was fine, but he couldn't go unpunished for the rest.

"What about the murder?" I whispered to Gordon.

"Just listen, love," he replied, giving me a small smile, and I nodded.

"The defendant is also found guilty of four counts of murder, which includes the murder of Jerald Tindale, Willow Tindale, Victor Adams, and Monica Adams. And so..." The judge finally looked up from her file, her lips curling into a small smirk as her gaze clashed with Paul. "The court sees no other just punishment than death by lethal injection."

~•~••~•~•~•~•~••~•~•~~~•~•
One more chapter left. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I can't believe we're finally at the end. I'm crying right now. Funny how this book was supposed to end like almost 100 chapters ago when Iris returned. The whole FBI arc wasn't really planned. But I guess it was for the best, right?

Who was your...
Favourite character?
Least favourite character?
Character that you want to strangle for being a pain in the ass?
Character you want to hug?

Check out my new story, Married To The Cursed Alpha if you love dark romance and obsessive men.