16 Chapter 16 - Judgment Day 16 Chapter 16 - Judgment Day The courtroom was packed. 1 Reporters lined the back wall. Industry insiders whispered behind dark sunglasses. Lawyers rustled through thick case files while spectators leaned in, waiting for the next scandalous detail to unfold. Lina Hart sat at the front, composed in a tailored navy suit from her unreleased collection-structured, elegant, impenetrable. Her hair was tied back. No jewelry. No makeup beyond a neutral gloss. Just steel and skin. Mason Rutherford sat across from her, thinner than she remembered, his posture slouched, his gaze mostly downcast. The judge entered. "All rise." The room obeyed. It began. The prosecution was sharp. They outlined the timeline: the abduction, the sedation, the forced confinement. They played grainy security footage from the manor. They showed maps, phone logs, text messages. They called Lina to the stand. She walked up slowly, spine straight. The courtroom fell still. "State your name." "Lina Hart," she said. "Is that your legal name?" 10.15 1/5 > 16 Chapter 16 Judgment Day "It is now." She recounted the events calmly. The moment at her door. The cloth. The first thing she remembered upon waking up in Rutherford Manor. "He told me he needed time. That he couldn't lose me again." "Did you believe you were in danger?" "No," she said. Then, a pause. "But I knew I wasn't free." That answer rang louder than any scream. Mason's defense tried to spin it as desperation. A moment of poor judgment. Lingering grief. They called psychologists. Diagnosed obsession. Argued that trauma had rewired Mason's logic. "He wasn't trying to hurt her," his lawyer said. "He was trying to reclaim a connection he mishandled the first time." The judge wasn't moved. Neither was the jury. In her final remarks, Lina stood on her own, declining legal counsel. "I'm not here to demand vengeance," she said. "Only accountability." Her voice didn't waver. "I've moved forward. I've rebuilt my life. But what Mason did cannot be excused as grief. Obsession is not affection. Control is not love. And I refuse to live in a world where men can reframe violence as heartbreak." The courtroom murmured. The judge called for order. But Lina had already said what needed saying. 10:15 215 < 16 Chapter 16 - Judgment Day The verdict came two hours later. Guilty on all counts. Sentencing: eighteen months incarceration, mandatory psychiatric treatment, and 400 hours of community service in ethics and trauma education programs. Mason was stunned. He didn't cry. He didn't argue. He simply turned to Lina, eyes full of the man he might have been, and mouthed, *I'm sorry.* She nodded once-not forgiveness. Acknowledgment. Then she walked past him. Without a word. Outside, the press surged like a wave. "Miss Hart, do you feel vindicated?" "Do you still believe in love after this?" "Will Ardent Luxe respond with a statement?" Bruce stepped in, shielding her with his umbrella and his silence. They didn't run. They didn't hide, They just walked, And the crowd parted. 10:15 3/5 < 16 Chapter 16 - Judgment Day Later that night, they sat on a bench in a quiet corner of Bryant Park, watching lights flicker across the city skyline. Bruce didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Finally, Lina spoke. "I didn't feel triumphant." "That's okay." "I just feel... clear." He nodded. "That's what healing looks like. It's quiet." She turned to him. "Thank you for not trying to fix me." "I wouldn't dare," Bruce said, smiling gently. "You already did that yourself." Across the city, investors issued statements reaffirming their support for Lina Hart's leadership of the Ardent Luxe-Rutherford joint line. They called her resilient. Visionary. Fearless. But she didn't feel like any of those things. She just felt... ready. To live forward. Not through fear. Not through fight. But through choice*. 10.15 4/5 16 Chapter 16 - Judgment Day. When Bruce reached for her hand, she didn't pull away. And for the first time in years, she didn't brace for disappointment. She simply held on. Comment O Leave the first comment for this chapter. Vote Б Show support to the author by leaving comments when sending gift. Swipe Left To Continue > 53 Send Gifts