The courtroom remained deathly silent.Every eye was fixed on the witness stand.Jamal stared at Adolphus as though he had never seen him before.His mind refused to process what was happening.Just moments ago, he had been convinced that his own brother had betrayed him.It was finally coming togetherThe countless text messages...The secret phone calls...The strange behavior...The sudden decision to join the company...Everything had pointed toward one conclusion. Vivian's heart pounded violently inside her chest.She slowly turned to look at Jamal.His fists were clenched so tightly that the veins on the back of his hands protruded visibly.Andrew, on the other hand, wore the smile of a man who's victory had finally arrived.His lawyer, Greg, leaned closer and whispered,"I told you we'd need something big." Andrew leaned closer to his lawyer and whispered. "Actually, this is bigger than big, don't you think?"He folded his arms confidently."When Adolphus finishes speaking, J

Jamal stood silently before the glass, both hands tucked into his trouser pockets as he overlooked the skyline.For the first time in days... He wasn't thinking about court hearings.He wasn't reviewing evidence.He wasn't preparing for another confrontation with Andrew .The battle was over.A soft knock interrupted his thoughts."Come in."The door opened.Evelyn stepped inside carrying a brown folder.She immediately noticed the distant look in Jamal's eyes."You've been standing there for almost twenty minutes."Jamal smiled faintly without turning. "Have I?""You have."She walked closer and stood beside him, following his gaze toward the bustling city below."It's beautiful.""It is."Neither of them spoke for a while.Sometimes silence said far more than words ever could.Finally, Evelyn broke it."You're thinking about him."Jamal let out a slow breath."I am."She wasn't surprised.After everything Andrew had done...It would have been stranger if Jamal wasn't thinking about

As Jamal drove through the streets towards the cemetery, everything, including the traffic lights, every intersection and building... They somehow reminded him of another time.A simpler time Before greed and betrayal.Before revenge became the only thing keeping him alive.His fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel.He remembered sitting in the back seat of his father's old car as a child.His mother would always insist on sitting beside him instead of in the front.His father used to complain dramatically."Am I your husband or your chauffeur?"His mother would laugh every single time."Oh, stop complaining. My little prince needs me more than you do."Then she would pull little Jamal into a hug while his father pretended to sulk.Thinking about it now... A small smile found its way onto Jamal's face."They were so happy..."he murmured to himself."They deserved so much better."...Nearly forty minutes later...The car pulled to a stop outside the cemetery gates.Ja

The iron gates of the Security Prison creaked open with a slow groan.Scarlet sat quietly behind the wheel of her car, staring at the building.She had never imagined she would willingly come here.It wasn't because she pitied the man inside.Far from it.If anything... She wished the prison walls were even thicker.She wished the bars were even stronger.Because the man she had come to see had destroyed too many lives to ever deserve freedom again.Scarlet switched off the engine and stepped out of the car.She adjusted her sunglasses before taking a slow breath."This ends today."Not Andrew's sentence, that had already been decided.Today was about something else, closure.Not the kind Jamal had sought.This was her own.For years she had lived in fear of Andrew Wilson.Fear of his phone calls, fear of his demands, fear of disappointing him.Fear of what he would do if she ever refused him.She still remembered the countless nights she had cried herself to sleep after carrying out

Vivian folded another blouse with trembling fingers before placing it carefully into her suitcase.Half her clothes were already packed, the other half still hung neatly inside the wardrobe of the guest room.She stood there for several long seconds, staring blankly at them.It's been a long thirty days.A small smile appeared on her lips.She still remembered proposing the thirty days with complete confidence."Give me thirty days, if you still don't want this marriage, I'll sign the divorce papers and never bother you again."At the time, she had truly believed she could do it.She had believed she could spend a month with the man she had admired for years and walk away without breaking.How naive she had been.She laughed softly to herself. "I really underestimated my own heart."Her eyes slowly wandered around the room.She had lived there for a month, yet every night, before sleeping, she would find herself wondering what Jamal was doing just a few doors away.Was he still workin