Chapter 383
Three hundred and eighty five
Isabella POV
The trial chamber was full. I suspected it was because the Alpha’s family was involved.
There was no endless arguing over words nobody cared about, no tedious procession of legal formalities. The evidence was presented, and witnesses were heard.
I sat beside Wesley and his parents, along with Grandma Cassidy and the others, while witnesses waited behind the designated line.
Across the chamber, my father sat with his wife. I barely recognized them. They had both lost weight since the chaos began. Whatever happened to Barbara would leave them without a child, and perhaps that was finally beginning to settle into them.
Marcus had already received his sentence. He wasn’t a Meridian member, but his connection to the organization and his illegal trade in Meridian substances had been established through the evidence recovered during the investigation. The council sentenced him to thirty years of confinement, along with the stripping of his commercial and pack privileges. Three men who had worked with him received lesser sentences for their roles.
Then there was Barbara.
The chamber grew quieter as she was brought forward.
I looked at her and found it hard to reconcile the woman standing there with the person who had tormented me for years. She looked smaller than I remembered, but something defiant still lived in her expression. She had lost control of almost everything around her, yet she still seemed convinced she could talk her way out of the
consequences.
The charges were read.
Murder.
Conspiracy.
Unauthorized removal of a child.
Her involvement with the Meridian dealer.
The evidence against her didn’t depend on a single confession. There were records, transactions, witness statements, the recovered substances, the daycare extraction, and testimony from her own family. Even her mother’s admission that she had watched Barbara compete with Beatrice for years had become part of the picture.
When the council recessed before announcing the final judgment, Wesley touched my hand.
“Let’s go for some air p>
I didn’t argue.
The corridor gave me room to breathe. Wesley led me toward the open courtyard where cool air moved through the trees. I leaned against the railing and stared into the distance, trying to process everything I’d heard.
Footsteps hurried behind us. I turned and saw my father.
“Isabella p>
He stopped in front of me, breathing hard. His eyes were red, and something about the way he looked at me made
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my chest tighten despite myself.
need to talk to you p>
Wesley stepped back without saying anything.
My father looked at him, then back at me. “Please. I know I have no right to ask anything from you, but I need you. to hear me p>
I said nothing.
“I was a terrible father.” His voice broke. “I failed you. I should have protected you. I should have seen what Barbara was doing and stopped it p>
The words landed hard, but they didn’t erase anything.
He was still my father. Beatrice hadn’t harmed me either, but she hadn’t defended me, and I’d grieved for her all the same when she was killed for nothing. The feeling now was the same one I felt for my father.
He moved closer, tears gathering in his eyes.
“I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I know that. But please, Isabella. I’m begging you. You’re my daughter, and you’re the only child I have left p>
“If Barbara had never become this evil, would you have ever thought of me as your daughter? Would you have ever looked at me and decided I deserved the place she had p>
He couldn’t answer. The silence answered for him.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I continued. “I can’t stand here and pretend everything is fine because you’re finally sorry. You should have been sorry when I was being hurt. You should have protected me when I was a child. You can’t give me those years back p>
“I know p>
He wiped his face, but more tears followed. “Tell me what to do. Anything. I will tell the pack you’re my daughter. I will admit everything. I will stand before everyone and tell them I failed you. Whatever you want, I’ll do it p>
A painful sympathy stirred inside me, but I refused to let it become forgiveness before I was ready.
“I will forgive you. But it will happen on my terms p>
He nodded quickly. “Yes. Yes, anything p>
“I won’t forgive you because you’re afraid of losing your last child, and I won’t forgive you because Barbara is going to prison. I’ll forgive you when my heart says I’m ready p>
His shoulders fell, but he nodded.
“I understand p>
I wasn’t sure he did.
Wesley stayed silent through all of it and let me own the choice.
I looked at my father and felt that strange mixture of grief and pity again. He had lost a daughter because of Barbara’s crimes, but I had lost a childhood because he’d refused to protect me. Both things could be true.
“I need to go back inside p>
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“Isabella p>
Wesley reached for my hand as I turned away, and I let him take it. We walked back toward the chamber together, leaving my father standing in the courtyard.
His tears weren’t enough to make the past disappear.
The chamber fell quiet as the council returned to their seats. Barbara was brought forward to hear her sentence. I watched her face as the final evidence was summarized.
Her eyes moved around the chamber with a strangeness, as though everyone there had become an enemy she needed to defeat. No remorse lived in them, no understanding of what she had done.
The presiding judge rose, and the chamber settled.
“Barbara, the council has found you guilty of the unauthorized removal of a child, conspiracy with an enemy Alpha, unlawful dealings connected to Meridian, and the murder of your twin, Beatrice p>
Barbara’s mouth tightened.
“For the removal of Maverick and the offenses connected to the abduction, you are sentenced to twenty years for each charge, to be served under council authority. For the murder of your sister, the council imposes the highest sentence permitted under pack law. Life imprisonment p>
A murmur moved through the chamber.
“There will be no release from this sentence. You will remain confined for the rest of your life p>
Barbara stared at him as if he’d spoken another language.
Gwen covered her face and began sobbing, the sound carrying through the chamber as the guards moved toward Barbara. Her father sat rigidly beside her, tears running down his face, while Barbara looked from one parent to the other without offering either of them comfort.
Her eyes found me. The look she gave me made my stomach tighten. She stared at me as though she could still find a way to blame me for everything that had happened.
I didn’t look away.
For years, I had been the person expected to lower her eyes when Barbara entered a room. I had learned to make myself smaller around her, to anticipate what she might do and avoid giving her another reason to hurt me.
I wasn’t doing that anymore.
The guards took her by the arms and led her away. She kept looking back at me until the doors closed behind her.
Emerald’s name came up during the final review of the evidence, and I found myself shaking my head. She was sitting behind bars too, along with the daycare worker who had helped remove Maverick. It was hard to understand how many people had been willing to involve themselves in destroying someone else’s life.
Their sentencing should have felt like victory. Instead, I felt empty.
Maybe because there was nothing satisfying about watching a person throw away her entire life. Barbara had once been a young woman with a future ahead of her. Whatever jealousy and resentment had grown until it consumed everything else, she had chosen what to do with it.
Wesley squeezed my hand, bringing me back to the present.
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Outside, we found Emma and Anita waiting in their car. They had stayed away from the courtroom. Anita’s eyes were swollen from crying, and she looked as though she’d spent the entire day fighting to hold herself together.
When she saw us, she opened the door and climbed out.
“I couldn’t see her,” she admitted. Her voice trembled. “I couldn’t sit there and look at the woman who killed Beatrice p>
I wrapped my arms around her, and she held me tightly.
“I hate her,” she whispered against my shoulder. “I hope she spends every day of her life knowing what she did. I hope she never gets peace p>
“At least Beatrice can rest now,” I said.
Anita wiped her face and took a breath. “I need a break from all of this p>
Emma smiled faintly. “So do I. Long enough that nobody can find us p>
Anita managed a laugh despite herself. “A year sounds reasonable. You two should come with us p>
“Hell no,” Wesley said. “You can go on your little vacation. I have enemies to impress p>
Anita gave him a tired look. “Of course you do p>
I laughed, and the sound felt strange at first. Then it felt good.
Anita looked between Wesley and me.
“I’m glad you two found each other,” she said. “After everything, I’m glad you found something real. Maybe that’s what people need in a world this terrible p>
I smiled at Wesley.
For so long, love had meant survival. It meant hiding, running, protecting myself, protecting Maverick, worrying about what would happen next. Even happiness had always carried the question of when someone would come to take it away.
That was gone now.
Desmond was dead. Barbara was imprisoned. Maverick was safe. Wesley could shift, hear his wolf, and live without fearing his own body would betray him.
Nothing was chasing us.
I could simply love him.
Emma smiled at us from beside Anita. “Some people are ridiculously lucky p>
Wesley looked at me and pulled me into his arms.
The end.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
We actually did it!
Isabella and Wesley’s story is complete.
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And honestly, I need to congratulate myself because this book took me on a journey I was not always prepared for. There were days when I uploaded one or two chapters, and there were days when I decided to go on a full marathon because I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving you hanging at the edge of another cliffhanger.
To every single reader who has stayed with me throughout this journey, thank you. Whether you started from the beginning, joined somewhere along the way, read silently, commented on every chapter, or simply kept opening the book whenever I uploaded, you were part of this story.
I know I’m not the greatest writer out there, and I know this book has had its flaws. I’ve seen the complaints abou the storyline being dragged in places, and honestly, I’ve learned from them. I will carry those lessons into my next books because every story teaches its writer something, and Isabella and Wesley taught me a lot.
Now, for my honorary mentions.
There are at least ten readers whose names I recognize because you never fail to leave comments. You probably don’t realize how much those comments have helped me.
Sometimes I’ll read through the comment section and suddenly get that spark of an idea.
“Wait. That’s actually what should happen next p>
Your comments have helped me catch things I might have forgotten, notice things that needed more attention, and sometimes find directions for the story that I hadn’t even considered. In a strange way, some of you became another pair of eyes for this book.
And I will never take that for granted.
You also stayed even when I was writing and uploading without going through the second and third drafts I probably should have done. You saw the mistakes, the messy parts, the chapters where I probably should have stopped and rewritten something, and you still kept reading.
That means a lot to me.
Now, about Meridian…
Meridian is not completely finished. There are still loose threads, characters with unfinished stories, and possibilities sitting inside this universe. So I’m curious about something.
Would you want another story from this universe?
Maybe there is a character whose story you think deserves to continue. Maybe there is a relationship you think I should explore. Maybe there are two characters you think would make an interesting couple. Maybe there is a storyline I left open that you think has potential.
Tell me.
Drop your ideas, theories, character suggestions, pairings, unfinished storylines, or anything else you would love
to see.
Depending on your response, I may continue the story here, or I may create another book in the same universe so new readers can discover it without having to stare at the enormous chapter count of this book and wonder whether they have accidentally signed up for a second degree.
And if the editorial team approves it, I may even try to get some free chapters for the next storyline so you can read enough to decide whether you want to continue with it.
So please, don’t hold back in the comments. I genuinely want to know what you think.
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There is also one final favor I want to ask.
you enjoyed Isabella and Wesley’s story, please leave a rating and a review on the front page of the book. Your comments and ratings help the book reach more readers, and if it gets another opportunity for promotion, those reviews can encourage someone who has never opened the book to give it a chance.
You’ve already helped me get this far. This would mean so much to me.
Thank you for staying through the chaos, the romance, the betrayals, the wolves, the Meridian madness, the cliffhangers, the slow parts, the mistakes, and everything in between.
Isabella and Wesley have finally made it.
And so have we.
I love and appreciate every one of you.
Thank you for reading my story.
I’ll still be checking the comments, so don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily.
Until the next story, take care of yourselves, keep reading, and keep dreaming. 2
With love,
Luxie
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Lucia Morh
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.