Cherry's POV
LAS VEGAS. FIVE YEARS LATER
The gavel hit down hard, echoing through the courtroom with authority.
"Guilty," I declared, my voice steady though my chest rose and fell with the weight of justice.
Another conviction.
Another win.
Another criminal taken off the streets.
I had gotten justice for the family of the victim, people who had no voice simply because the criminal was wealthy.
But the applause was silent in my head, because no matter how many cases I won, the real war wasn't finished. It never would be, not until the one man who had shattered my life and made me fight to this stage stood before me in judgment.
Jed Griffo.
In every suspect brought into my courtroom, I searched for his face.
I closed the file neatly, rose from my seat, and nodded politely to the attorneys. My judge's robe swayed as I stepped down, but behind my composed exterior, memories rumbled within me. They never let me rest. I wanted that particular conviction, otherwise my becoming a judge was in vain.
It had been years. Years since I stormed out of my family home, never hoping to see either Jed or Nora until the day I could serve my revenge cold.
One day, many months later, I sat on my bench in court, ready for the next case, one involving a billionaire who operated an arms production company with an illegal fertility hospital that specialized in sperm and egg donors.
WALZ FERTILITY HOSPITAL.
The very hospital I had gone to sell my eggs for money to give Jed. Seeing this name on the file hooked me instantly. I wanted to see the criminal behind it.
Though convicted for multiple crimes, his main charge was homicide.
The gruesome murder of his wife.
He had shot her in the head and dumped her body into a nearby lake, where he was caught and arrested.
My heart fumed.
Poor woman.
Anger surged through me. I wanted to sentence him to death or life imprisonment without parole.
Then he walked in—tall, muscular, dressed in a well tailored suit, face masked and handcuffed. He looked the billionaire he was, but behind him were four kids. Two girls and two boys. They were quadruplets, no more than five years old, all wearing face masks.
The guards led them inside.
"Those are his kids," my secretary whispered into my ear.
"Take off his face mask and direct the kids to their seats," I ordered.
He thinks coming in with his children will win me over.
Never.
I watched him with hate as one of the officers stepped forward and removed his mask. His head stayed bowed.
"No need to hide your face. Raise it up!" I commanded.
Slowly, he lifted his head then his eyes locked with mine.
My face went pale. My lips parted. My hand froze in midair.
"What? You?"
"Jed?"
Quickly my thoughts darted to the children. "Take off their masks."
Two officers stepped forward. If he killed Nora, did he leave behind her children? The thought churned through me.
The entire courtroom held its breath. Whispers, gasps, even gestures of shock rippled through the crowd.
The kids' masks came off.
Then…
Boom!
They all had identical faces.
To me.
I sprang up. "What's going on?"
Not only me, everyone stood, gasping in disbelief. My heart pounded. The children stared back, lips parted.
"Why do they look so much like me, young man?" I demanded, not out of anger but utter shock.
I stepped down from the bench and moved closer. Looking into their faces, I traced every feature—the eyes, the nostrils, the lips, even the shape of their cheeks. All mine.
"But I have never… ever… been pregnant."
The courtroom fell into a stunned silence.
"How did these kids come about?" I asked him, my voice trembling. For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating. But then the children's voices cut through the silence.
"Daddy, is this the mama you said is gone but loved us so much?" the first boy asked.
"She looks so much like us," the first girl said.
"Mama, it's been years. Where have you been?" the second boy asked me directly.
The last little girl stepped forward, looking up at me. "Now you're back, mama, will you marry Dad? Our stepmother is dead."
Her words struck me deep. I turned quickly, retreating to my seat. Judges were taught never to show emotions in court, never for a criminal. I had always kept this law. But not this time.
Tears blurred my vision. I wiped at them furiously, not wanting anyone else to see. I tried to begin the case, but I couldn't not until I had answers.
I had too many questions.
But duty demanded I move forward.
So I forced myself to begin.
"Mr. Griffo," I said, my voice firm, my face hardening with the vengeance I had carried for years.
"I have some questions regarding your operation of an illegal sperm and egg donor hospital. Can you tell this honorable court your reason for running such an establishment? I also remember you once recommended that very place as the best fertility hospital to sell or donate eggs."
The memories slammed into me. He had spoken about it so casually back then. I never thought there was a hidden meaning until now.
So he really owned this place. But why?
Why had he asked me to sell my eggs? Why had he given me those huge payments only to circle the money back into his empire?
My head spun with questions as I glared at him, waiting for his response.