Chapter 13 - Desperation in the Sunshine StateDown in Florida, things were unraveling at an even faster, more chaotic pace.
Alyssa Monroe sat in a hard plastic chair in the holding area of the Palm Beach County Courthouse, staring at her swollen hands. The designer sundress she had worn on her wedding day was long gone, replaced by an oversized orange jumpsuit that hung heavily over her pregnant frame.
The federal prosecutor had not been lenient. Because Alyssa had willingly used her maiden name to establish the Cayman Islands shell company and had signed the digital transfer authorizations, she was facing up to five years in federal prison for wire fraud and conspiracy.
The heavy metal door swung open, and her court-appointed public defender, a tired-looking man named Henderson, stepped into the visitation booth.
"Ms. Monroe," Henderson said, sitting down behind the glass partition and picking up the phone. "I have the updated plea agreement from the District Attorney's office."
Alyssa grabbed her side of the phone, her eyes wide with terror. "Did they drop it? Did they agree to probation? I'm pregnant! They can't send a pregnant woman to prison!"
"Listen to me, Alyssa," Henderson interrupted, his tone flat and uncompromising. "The D.A. knows you were the one who physically placed the financial authorization on Victoria Carter's desk. They also have digital logs proving you initiated the secondary transfer sequence."
"Sebastian told me to do it!" Alyssa sobbed, tears spilling down her cheeks. "He said she wouldn't notice! He said we'd use the money to start our own firm in the Bahamas!"
"Sebastian’s testimony isn't going to save you," Henderson said bluntly. "In fact, according to his own lawyer, Sebastian is claiming that you masterminded the entire plot to trap him into marriage using the child as leverage."
Alyssa stopped breathing. The color drained completely from her face.
"He... what?" she whispered.
"He's throwing you under the bus, Alyssa," Henderson sighed, sliding a document through the slot. "If you want a reduced sentence of eighteen months in a minimum-security facility, you have to sign a cooperation affidavit detailing every single conversation where Sebastian planned the corporate heist. Otherwise? You're looking at the full five years."
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Alyssa stared at the signature line. The man who had stood beside her on the beach just weeks ago, whispering promises of an eternal paradise while guests applauded, had already abandoned her to save his own skin.
With shaking fingers, Alyssa picked up the pen and signed her name.
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