Chapter 18 - Marina Faces the Court
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Months passed.
The criminal case did not end quickly.
Real cases rarely did.
Experts reviewed signatures.
Financial investigators traced payments.
Hospital staff testified.
Rebecca testified.
Dr. Kerr testified.
Richard Sloan eventually pleaded guilty and cooperated.
The evidence became overwhelming.
Marina ultimately entered a negotiated plea to multiple offenses involving fraud, falsified documents, conspiracy, and interference with lawful custody.
The judge considered the sophistication of the scheme.
The duration.
The money.
And most importantly, the fact that an infant had been deliberately separated from his family for nine months.
Marina received a custodial sentence.
Restitution.
Permanent removal from fiduciary roles.
And strict orders prohibiting contact with Rose and Gabriel.
She would not walk back into their lives because she suddenly regretted what she had done.
Any future request would require court review years later.
Victor submitted a victim-impact statement.
He did not ask to speak dramatically in court.
His written words were enough.
For nine months, I grieved a son who was alive.
For nine months, my daughter was treated as an obstacle in a financial plan.
No amount of money restores those months.
The only meaningful remedy is that neither child grows up believing what happened was their fault.
Marina listened without looking at him.
At sentencing, she was permitted to speak.
“I loved the idea of the Bellini family more than I loved any actual person in it.”
Victor looked up.
It was the first sentence from her he fully believed.
She continued.
“I wanted a place so badly that I destroyed any chance of having one.”
The judge imposed sentence.
Marina was taken away.
No applause.
No celebration.
Victor simply left.
Outside, snow had begun falling.
Jonathan asked—
“How do you feel?”
Victor considered.
“Finished.”
Not happy.
Not victorious.
Finished.
At the estate, Rebecca handed Gabriel to him.
Rose immediately raised both arms.
Victor picked her up too.
One child on each side.
Rebecca laughed.
“You know they can walk soon.”
“Then I’m moving.”
Rose grabbed his nose.
Gabriel grabbed his watch.
Victor sighed.
“Too late.”
Later, Victor entered the ballroom.
The Christmas banquet tables were gone.
But he remembered exactly where Marina had stood with that bowl.
He summoned the household manager.
“I want this room changed.”
“How?”
“No more private Christmas banquets.”
The manager looked surprised.
Victor continued.
“Next year, employees bring their families.”
“All employees?”
“All.”
He looked around.
“And nobody serves anybody unless they’re being paid to work.”
The manager smiled.
Victor had one more instruction.
“Rose and Gabriel sit wherever they want.”
May you like
👉 Marina’s punishment was complete, but Victor’s real answer to her cruelty would be changing the family culture that had ever made words like “real heir” sound meaningful.
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