The Verdict on My Husband the Judge: GUILTY novel Chapter 40

The verdict came down six months later.

Fraud. Embezzlement. Conspiracy to commit murder.

Thirty years. No parole.

Felix made sure the right people knew what Cade had done.

Child killer. Traitor. Snitch.

In prison, those three words were a death sentence. Cade would spend every day looking over his shoulder. Waiting for the knife.

As for Vivienne? I threw her out on the street. No money. No protection. Hands destroyed.

A week later, someone found her body in an alley. Beaten. Violated. Left to rot.

When Felix told me, I felt… nothing.

No satisfaction. No guilt. Just… empty.

But the nightmares didn’t stop.

Every night, I saw Evan. Covered in blood.

He said to me with eyes burning:

“You let him fool you. You let him touch you. You let him?fuck? you.”

“I died screaming your name, and you married my killer.”

I woke up screaming. Again.

Felix burst through the door. Didn’t say anything. Just sat down next to me and pulled me against his chest.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’s just a dream. It’s over.”

But I couldn’t stop shaking.

“I was so stupid, Felix. I believed him. I loved him.”

My voice cracked. “Evan was so young. He protected me his whole life. And I couldn’t even protect him when he was dead.”

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The Verdict on My Husband the Judge: GUILTY

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Chapter 9

“It’s my fault. All of it.”

Felix held me tighter. “It’s not your fault. It’s Cade’s. Evan wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself.”

He pulled back. Looked me in the eye.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go see him. You can tell him yourself.”

The next day, I went to St. Michael’s Cemetery alone.

The mausoleum was still there. But the concrete seal had been broken. I’d ordered it removed the day after Cade’s

trial.

I knelt in front of Evan’s grave. Traced his name with my fingers.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

The wind picked up. Rustled the leaves around me.

And for the first time in ten years, I felt… light.

Like something had let go.

I looked up at the sky. Blue. Clear. Endless.

For a second, I thought I saw him. Evan. Smiling.

Then he was gone.

That night, I slept through for the first time in six months. No nightmares. No screaming.

When I woke up, the sun was already high.

I got dressed. Put on my best suit. Looked at myself in the mirror.

The woman staring back at me was different. Harder. Colder

Good.

I walked into Winters Tower. Heels clicking on marble.

“Call a meeting. West District project. Ten minutes.”

Felix looked at me. Smiled.

“There she is.”

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The Verdict on My Husband the Judge: GUILTY

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Chapter 9

I nodded.

Flipped open the project file. Scanned the numbers.

Felix leaned against the doorframe. Arms crossed.

“You know I’ve always got your back, right?”

I looked up. Met his eyes.

“I know.”

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