<b>Chapter 147 </b>


    Elena’s POV:


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    “Everything seems to be progressing perfectly, Elena. The fetus is growing well…we’re already twenty–seven weeks along! I’m sure you’re looking forward to himing. Have you decided on a name yet?” The doctor asked me, her voice warm and reassuring.


    Her words, meant to beforting,nded with a heavy weight in my heart. I managed a strained smile and shook my head.


    Time had passed with an astonishing, terrifying speed. It had already been five and a half months since I had started my internship at Legacy.


    My expectations about my pregnancy showing had beenpletely off; even at almost seven months along, it didn’t show much, not to the casual observer, I wore intentionally baggy clothes,yers that effectively concealed the growing bump, though Seraphina had undoubtedly figured it out. She was the only person I’d had to exin myself to.


    Despite my efforts, it was very obvious, even after this fruitful internship where I’d poured every ounce of my focus into my tasks, that I wouldn’t be offered a full–time job. I wasn’t upset about it too much. No, in fact, I still had many pressing matters on my mind to worry about my career at the moment.


    Niki still had not signed the divorce papers. And as ashamed as I was to admit it, even to myself, I had to ept the ufortable truth that I had becent. I had stopped mywyer from moving any further, from pressing the issue. But even I knew that this situation was already too far gone. Seven months. It was too much. I needed to tell him now. Even if, after knowing the truth, if he… if he chose to stay… then maybe.


    Just maybe… a small, treacherous part of me whispered.


    I was snapped out of my swirling thoughts when I felt my phone buzz. I looked down, realizing I had already exited the doctor’s office, the file containing mytest ultrasound images clutched tightly in my hand.


    I looked down at the caller ID. Sergei.


    I picked it up, pressing the phone to my ear. His voice came in, smooth and resonant. “Good afternoon, Dochenka.” He said, the endearment, once jarring, now merely a part of his usual greeting. After having heard the word many times over the past months, I had already learned to ignore it.


    “Good afternoon. What happened?” I asked, cutting straight to the chase, a frown creasing my brow. His tone held an unusual hesitation. He took a deep, measured inhale, the sound crackling slightly through the phone. I couldn’t help but frown further, my anxiety spiking. “What? Did… did things not go like we nned? Has something gone wrong with the case?”


    Almost seven weeks after Frankie Hudson’s rearrest, the wheels of justice had begun to grind. Dmitri’s arrest warrant had finally been issued, and he’d been publicly apprehended during one of his typical extravagant outings with his friends, caught off guard in a posh downtown


    restaurant.


    The part that made it almost surreal was that there was no dramatic twist, no chaotic shootout, like I’d been afraid of and anticipating after the cryptic, threatening text message I’d received months ago.


    In fact, it was stranger than that Dmitri hadn’t made a fuss on the news, hadn’t put up any theatrical resistance. He had quietly, almostpliantly, got into the police car, his expression almost bored. Only after seeing him apprehended with my own eyes, broadcast across every news channel, had I started feeling a little semnce of peace after being on edge for so long. Every day, morning and night, I made sure to call Mom and Fiona, checking up on them.


    However, that, as Sergei had predicted, was when the actual legal battle had begun. Even though the police had used the previous seven weeks to create a solid, legally sound case for Mielle’s death and Frankie’s coercion, meticulously building evidence independent of Sergei’s initial anonymous tip, the Vetrovs‘ power was undeniable.


    Trials began soon after. And obviously, just as expected, Dmitri did not plead guilty. His father had hired the country’s most renownedwyer, who fought this case tooth and nail against the one hired by Sergei himself.


    The defense argued vehemently that despite the patemity evidence and the chilling video of Liberty Romano’s mother’s assault, there was no direct, criminal causal link proven between Dmitri’s actions and Liberty’s suicide eight years prior. They framed Liberty’s death as a tragic, deeply personal choice influenced by her own mental health struggles, not a criminal act of murder by Dmitri


    Personally, I hadn’t expected much toe out of that particr usation either. After all, eight years had passed, and as expected, the charges specifically rted to Liberty Romano’s death and her family’s murder were severed from the trial due to insufficient evidence. It was frustrating, but not surprising.


    What happened next, however, was not within the bounds of my expectations. Or let’s just say that I had hoped and prayed with every fiber of my being that it wouldn’t happen, even though a realistic part of my heart knew that the chances were agonizingly high.


    In the trial proceedings regarding Mielle’s sexual assault, Dmitri’swyers seized on the “intoxication defense” for all involved parties, which included Dmitri, Lazar, and even Mielle herself. They argued that while the acts were indeed deplorable, the high levels of intoxication meant that Dmitri and the otherscked the specific intent required for a felony rape conviction. They painted a picture of reckless, drunken excess,


    rather than malicious, premeditated sexual violence.


    And the court, unbelievably, actually ended up reducing his sentence further. Thatst trial had ended up aggravating me so much that I had ended up getting a fever. And of course, after Mom found out, she’d been furious, forcing me to stay out of the city for the next trial, sternly dering, ‘What will happen, will happen. You’ve already done your best, Elena. Now leave it for the professionals.‘


    And I mean, it’s not like I could barge into court and change anything when the judge herself had made this judgment.


    So, since I had started bing so incredibly stressed with the trials, and with everything else going on in my life, everyone from Mom to


    even Shinichiro had decided to keep a collective eye on me, making sure I didn’t check the TV.


    Since today was the day of the final verdict, thest trial. It was ridiculous, really; if I wanted to, I could just check my phone, or browse the


    inte. But since everyone was trying so hard to protect me, to give me some semnce of peace, I had decided to listen. For once… I tried


    to rx<i>, </i>to find a moment of peace after so long.


    Of course, my kind of rxation involved making sure everything was going well with my pregnancy, so I had scheduled my doctor’s appointment for today too. Thankfully, after everything with Sergei, I hadn’t needed to worry about Niki’s men keeping an eye on me, about their presence being a constant threat. Sergei’s men took care of it, ensuring my privacy at all times that I visited the doctors.


    He chuckled then, a deep, satisfied sound that vibrated through the phone. “Quite the opposite, Dochenka. Congrattions.”


    I frowned, a mix of confusion and hope swirling within me. “Dmitri… he was found guilty? How much is the sentence? What exactly happened?” I asked.


    “How about we have a cup of tea together, Elena, and we can discuss the details face to face? I could send a car for you?” he suggested, his voice softening.


    “I have work tomorrow morning. I cannot. Not right now.” I said. The line went silent, a brief, awkward pause. I did feel a bit of guilt; he’d been trying to get me to meet up for the past three weeks, persistent but never overtly demanding. But… I truly wasn’t ready to face him


    right now.


    He sighed, a sound of obvious disappointment, but then his voice regained itsposure. “Of course, Elena. Like I had expected. He was charged with twenty years for all hisbined charges, effective immediately.”