Never Letting You Go (WWBM)

Chapter 21 Corey

One month and two weeks later.
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Jackson was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole. The cop that he shot after he shot me, did not die but he remained in critical condition.

Blase was also sentenced to life imprisonment and he was eligible for parole after serving twenty-five years for killing Ari and her unborn child. He was never charged for his involvement in Terri's accident or attempting to rape Kaylee. Kaylee said that she never saw either one of the men's faces that night. The murder charges against her were dropped because the DNA found at the crime scene was Blase's DNA. He never confessed or pleaded guilty. He retained his innocence throughout the trial. He said that he didn't know who Ari was and he was never affiliated with Jackson in any way. I knew that was a lie. I wanted Jackson to get the death penalty for all the crimes that he committed against us.

The detectives also believed that Blase had an accomplice but they couldn't prove it. Monica was never charged in Ari's murder. Neither was she charged for framing Kaylee or breaking into Kaylee's apartment. They found no evidence against her. Kaylee's neighbor, Benny, said that he wouldn't go and identify Monica because he and his family's life was threatened. We all knew who was behind that. They brought her in for questioning and she told them that she hadn't seen or heard from Jackson for over ten years. That was a lie. After the trial, she went ghost. No one has seen her since.

I wanted to kill that bastard, Jackson, for all the pain that he caused me and the people that I loved. If the cops hadn't shown up when they did, I was going to shoot him. I knew that I would be in prison today and my career would be over but I didn't care. I'd rather be happy, broke, and in prison knowing that he was dead and he couldn't hurt anyone else again.

My dad and I, now have a better relationship. I promised him that I'll invest in his company. He still hasn't talked about Ari's death but I knew that he was still grieving. I was trying to do what was right. If mom was here, that's what she would've wanted. She never held a grudge against anyone regardless of what they did to her. I have a new manager and a new publicist. I haven't done any recording because I spent one month in the hospital. I'm home now and trying to recuperate.

My albums sales went up sky-high after I got shot. I got a lot of love and support from my fans. They believed in me no matter what. I loved and appreciated them so much. My agent, Amelia, was always there for me. I can't thank her enough for everything that she has done for me.

Kaylee and I were back together a few days ago. She came to see me and we reconciled. She was also there for me when I was hospitalized. My manager wanted to get a nurse to take care of me but Kaylee told him that she would take care of me. I could never hate that woman no matter what she did. I apologized to her for the derogatory names that I called her that night inside my studio and also for what I did to her. She told me again that she was sorry and I forgave her. I knew that she didn't have a choice because Jackson would've killed her and Terri. Terri was still living in Atlanta with her nurse, Maria. I still took care of her medical expenses. She said that she was glad that Jackson was locked away for life.

It's funny how you've known a person your whole life and still didn't know what they were capable of or what their intentions were. You can see someone's face but you can't see their heart or read what's in their thoughts. I always thought that Jackson was the last person on this planet to betray me. He was like an older brother to me. I was five years old when my parents divorced. A year after that, mom started dating Anthony, Jacksons' dad. My mom treated him as her own child. Anthony came and visited me while I was in the hospital. He said that he didn't know that Jackson was the one who paid to have mom killed. He blamed himself for what Jackson did. He said that he was so busy with his career and he didn't have any time for him. I told him that it wasn't his fault.