Chapter 13 - Dragan’s Judgment: The Final Fall of Clarissa Hawthorne Merrill
The trial lasted three intense weeks.
The evidence presented by Dragan’s intelligence network was irrefutable. Documents dating back ten years proved that Clarissa’s father had deliberately sabotaged the textile factory’s fire exits to claim an eleven-million-dollar insurance settlement, while Clarissa had continued using the offshore toxic supply routes for her cosmetics.
Clarissa was sentenced to twenty-five years in federal prison without the possibility of early parole.
Every asset of Kind Beauty Corp was liquidated and redistributed to the families of the victims of the garment fire.
On the day of the final sentencing, Nadia stood outside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan.
The winter snow had melted, and the first crisp, fresh breezes of early spring blew through the city streets.
A sleek black car was waiting at the curb.
Boris stood by the door, opening it with a respectful bow as Nadia approached.
Inside sat Dragan Kovac, looking as sharp and composed as ever, reviewing a tablet of legitimate port logistics.
He looked up as Nadia slid into the leather seat beside him.
“Is it over?” Dragan asked softly.
Nadia looked out the tinted window at the courthouse steps. For the first time in ten years, the tightness in her chest was completely gone. The phantom smell of smoke had vanished. Her mother’s memory was no longer tied to shame and fire; it was tied to justice.
“It’s over,” Nadia said, turning toward him with a radiant smile. “It’s finally over.”
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Dragan reached out, his scarred, powerful hand gently taking hers. His fingers laced through hers with a warmth that made her heart race in a way it never had before.
“Then your new life begins today,” he said.
