The child who addressed him as mister was in actuality his son, and to have gotten to know him as a stranger at first must feel terribly upsetting and regrettable.
Words could not describe the love he felt for his son.
Elliot sensed that Anastasia was behind him, so he adjusted Jared’s covers lightly and got up to leave.
Anastasia had been standing there for quite some time. She was dressed quite thinly so she was starting to feel a little cold. Elliot’s large hands warmed up her chilly ones as he pulled her back to bed.
The next day, Anastasia received a call from Francis. He called to inform her that Naomi’s court proceedings would begin on Tuesday and asked if she had time to attend. Naturally, Anastasia would make the time for it. She wanted to
witness Naomi’s downfall in person and see if Naomi truly regretted what she did.
Tuesday morning, after dropping Jared off at school, Anastasia and Elliot went over to the courthouse.
Francis was already there when they arrived, and he seemed to have worked through his emotions as he was a lot calmer this time.
At ten o’clock, Naomi was brought into the courtroom. Her hands and feet were cuffed, and her hair had turned gray in many areas. She looked as if she had aged ten years. When she saw the people sitting in the stands, she looked over at Francis with pleading eyes and her voice trembled as she called out, “Francis…. Francis…”
Francis looked at Naomi with nothing but pain. There was no love and no concern at all. Naomi glanced at Anastasia, but she knew that with her here, there was no way that Francis would take pity on her
and forgive her. Elliot was also sitting beside Anastasia, and compared to them, Naomi looked like she belonged in a different world entirely.
The proceedings started, and Francis’ lawyer began to give an explicit account of what happened. Despite the cold and matter-of-fact tone he used to describe the sequence of events, it was still enough to shock and strike fury in the hearts of anyone who heard it. For the sake of money, Naomi was willing to betray her husband and even go so far as to make an attempt on his life.
The culprits behind the entire scheme were Erica, Alex, and Naomi.
Naomi sat stiffly in her seat as she heard the recount of what she had done. She saw Francis sitting there with his head lowered, and tears of anger and regret began to stream down her face.
She recalled how blissful she felt when Francis married her. He worked hard to build his empire, but he would always provide her a princely sum to spend every month. She was free to do whatever she wanted with it, and her daughter, the one she had hidden away all these years, was able to grow up happy and confident as Francis’ daughter too.
Why did everything turn out this way in the end?
Not only did she ruin her own life, but
she also ruined her daughter’s youth and
future.
Anastasia remained calm on the outside, but on the inside, she was hoping that her father would not plead clemency for this woman. She wanted Naomi to face the full consequences of her actions.
Francis did not do anything, but toward the end of the proceedings, Naomi turned to him and pleaded with a tear stricken face, “Francis, I know what I did was wrong, and I’m willing to bear the consequences, but please… please forgive Erica. I’m the one who taught her to do everything. She’s not a bad person.” Francis said nothing. Naomi had received an eighteen-year sentence. If she managed to stay alive until the end of her sentence, she would be an old woman in her seventies when she was released.
When she did not hear a reply from Francis, she screamed in tears, “Erica has treated you like a father for 22 years!
She’s only 23 years daughter…” old! My poor
Francis did feel sorry for Erica because she was a child that he had raised, but when he glanced at Anastasia and recalled everything that Naomi and Erica had done to her all these years, he suppressed those feelings.
He had no right to forgive them on Anastasia’s behalf. Anastasia was the only one who could decide whether Erica could be forgiven.
Though it went without saying that Anastasia would not do such a thing, and she would remain unmoved even if Naomi cried until her eyes bled out. She turned to Francis. “Let’s go, Dad.”
Francis nodded and left with Anastasia and Elliot. All of Naomi’s hopes were dashed as Erica would soon be sentenced as well. If Francis refused to help, then her daughter would not receive any leniency either.
Naomi’s crimes made it to the news. She had a short-lived moment of glory as the president of Tillman Constructions, and at the time, she had been incredibly smug about it to the press. Now, that only served to highlight just how far she had fallen.
