All Chapters of The Vows We Fake : Chapter 181 - Chapter 186

I stepped forward, letting my heels click sharply against the polished floor as I approached the podium where Leah had been ruling the room with her poise and practiced confidence. The flash of cameras was blinding, but I ignored it. Every eye in the hall was on me, waiting, anticipating my next move. Leah’s smile was sharp, predatory, but now there was a flicker of unease in it, a crack that only I could see. “Leah,” I said, my voice calm, controlled, every syllable deliberate, carrying across the hushed room. “Why don’t we show everyone what happened the night of the fire?” Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second, but then she laughed, a sharp, brittle sound meant to mask fear. “Show them what? Lies? Fabrications? You have nothing.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. I held up a small device, a flash drive I had taken from Marcus before the event, and slid it into the media terminal at the edge of the stage. A hush fell over the audience. The glow of the projector lit up the

I followed Zane only until the corner of the courthouse hallway, where the guards stopped me and motioned for him to continue alone. It was what Leah demanded. She wanted him without me. She always wanted him without me. Zane placed a hand on my shoulder, steady and warm. “I will not be long.” “I trust you,” I whispered, even though my chest felt tight. “Just be careful.” He nodded once and walked into the small interrogation room. The door shut behind him with a heavy thud that echoed down the hall. A guard stayed beside me, but my mind was nowhere near the hallway. I pressed my fingers against my wrist where my pulse throbbed with restless worry. Inside that room was a woman who had burned my house, killed my father, tried to kill me, ruined my life, stolen my past, and aimed to destroy my future. A woman I had once called sister. A woman who I recently discovered loved Zane in a way that could only be described as poison. I breathed in. Out. And waited. Zane told me later wh

The courtroom felt too quiet, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. I sat there frozen, hands clasped together tightly in my lap, staring straight ahead even though my vision kept swimming. Zane sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched, but neither of us spoke. We did not need to. Everything had been said in that courtroom. Everything had been shown. Leah sat across from us, her wrists cuffed, her face pale beneath the harsh lights. She did not look at me. She had not looked at me since I finished my testimony. She had kept her eyes fixed on the floor, her jaw trembling, her fingers twitching like she wanted to claw her way out of reality. The judge returned. Everyone rose. My stomach twisted so tightly I thought I would be sick. We sat. The judge cleared his throat. “After careful review of all presented evidence, including security footage, recorded communications, financial records, and witness testimony, this court has reached a verdict.” My nail