PART 5 — The Trial of Santiago Rivas
PART 5 — The Trial of Santiago Rivas
The courtroom was packed.
Flash cameras.
Whispers.
The fall of a billionaire was entertainment for everyone except me.
Santiago sat in a gray suit now.
No confidence.
No smile.
Only emptiness.
Beatriz avoided my eyes completely.
When I testified, my voice didn’t shake.
Not anymore.
“I was controlled. Isolated. Threatened.”
Each word landed like stone.
“And I was made to believe I had no one.”
I looked at Santiago.
“But I was never alone.”
My father stood in the back of the courtroom.
Santiago noticed him.
And for the first time…
he understood the truth.
He hadn’t just hurt a wife.
He had attacked a legacy he couldn’t even comprehend.
When the verdict was read—
guilty on all counts—
Santiago didn’t react.
He just stared at me.
May you like
Like he was finally seeing me for the first time.
But it was too late.
