THE FINAL SENTENCE

All eyes were glued to Marcus, who had gone utterly pale and clammy. He looked like a man already behind bars, the life slowly draining from his eyes as he understood his meticulously crafted lies were now worthless. The cocky sneer he had worn at the start of proceedings was nowhere to be found, and was now replaced by the haunted look of someone who knew they were out of moves.

His lawyer didn't even bother trying to object. He simply sank back into his chair, looking as shell-shocked as his client. All his well-rehearsed arguments, all his grandstanding for the sake of bilking a rich client had all amounted to nothing in the face of such damning, unarguable proof. Meanwhile, Mr Cyrus couldn't help but feel a sense of grim satisfaction wash over him. All those sleepless nights spent agonizing over how to protect Jackie and bring Ellis's offender to justice had led to this decisive moment. He stole a glance over at Jackie, who was seated in the gallery with red-rimmed eyes, her sligh