Page 262 of Only Be Mine

Financial records.

Phone logs.

The old detective’s suspicious case closure.

The ring.

The chase.

The attempted murder.

I didn’t have to testify.

The prosecutors said they had enough.

They were right.

I still went, just one day.

I sat in the back and watched Trevor enter in shackles.

He looked thinner, but not smaller.

He saw me immediately.

His mouth lifted, not into a smile, but into something more like triumph.

When the verdict was read, he was found guilty on all counts.

Murder in the first degree.

Kidnapping.

Attempted homicide.

Obstruction of justice.

Life in prison without parole.

He didn’t react at first, just stared ahead.

Then they stood him up and escorted him toward the door.

That’s when he broke.

“Cate!” he shouted.

The courtroom froze.

He twisted against the deputies. “I did it for you!” he yelled. “I love you! You’re nothing without me!”

My heart didn’t race.

It didn’t shatter.

It didn’t soften.

It simply… settled.