As they always said: crime doesn't pay.

Today was the day of my trial. I was in the court's lockup room, waiting anxiously for the time of my case's hearing. They let me wear formal today instead of the lovely bright orange jumpsuit I used to wear for the past few weeks. I was wearing a black blazer, a white shirt, and black slacks. I was handcuffed and sitting alone; it made my mind wander in every direction about what was going to happen today. I was sure it was going to be bad, but I was still hoping for the least damage.

The dreaded wait made me recall everything that happened in my life and every wrong choice I have made that was one of the many reasons that led to this situation. In the end, we always regretted the chances we didn't take, and I let go of a lot of chances to have a better life and to start fresh. Maybe I really deserved some of what happened to me. I couldn't blame anyone for what I have come to; I screwed up badly and I should face the consequences of my actions.

I sighed, sitting here alone with my mind would drive me insane. I really hated the quietness of the room; it felt like the calm before the storm. I sighed again and moved my hands a little; the handcuffs were chafing and digging into my skin. I wanted to pick them badly, but that would only end up causing me more trouble which I certainly could spare.

After a while of more torturing quietness with my deadly thoughts, the door of the room opened and to my surprise, my brother walked in with a smile and shut the door behind him.

I looked at him with wide eyes. "Eric, how did you get in here?"

He pulled a chair and sat in front of me. "I took permission to come and talk to you before you go in."

"Great," I said, smiling a little. "Sitting here alone for one more minute would have driven me insane."

Eric gave me a compassionate smile before he said. "You shouldn't have told them that homeless man story. Giving them my name would have really helped you."

"Are you an idiot?" I asked, frowning my eyes at him. "Eric, you're my brother. I would have never forgiven myself if I had done something like that to you."

"I'm really sorry, Em," he murmured. His blue eyes looked distant.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Eric. I'm the one who screwed up and played with fire. You have nothing to do with it, and it's not your fault," I told him. "I should have listened to you from the beginning; getting close to Jake was a huge mistake."

"You loved him." Eric shrugged, giving me a sympathetic look.

"I did, but there were no good scenarios in this situation. It was whether I leave forever or... this," I said, gesturing to my cuffed hands.

"I heard that he will testify against you today," Eric said.

"Yeah, he was the case's agent and he was the one who arrested me. Of course, he would testify." I sighed. I didn't know if I could take seeing him today without breaking down.

"Emma, what are you going to do after that?" Eric sighed, looking at me in the eye.

I let out a humorless chuckle. "There's nothing to do anymore, Eric." I shrugged. "Everything is over."

He was about to say something else, but the door opened followed by a police officer stepping in.

"It's time," the officer declared.

I stood up and gave Eric a smile before I walked through the door to where the officer was standing. I was trying to stay as strong as I could. I couldn't break down or let my weakness show. Faking a smile and pretending that everything was alright was the best thing I could do at this very moment.

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"You are going to testify against her?" Luke asked me in disbelief on our way to the courtroom.

"Yeah," I answered nonchalantly as I continued walking.

"I thought you were letting someone else do it," Luke argued.

"I'm the one who met her on the day of the heist, and I'm the one who arrested her," I argued. "Why should I let someone else do it?"

"Jake, it's Emma we are talking about here." He rose an eyebrow at me.

I slowed my footsteps and looked at him coldly. "I know that we're talking about her. She's a criminal and a liar, and she deserves everything that is going to happen to her," I snapped at him. Then I frowned my eyes at him. "Why the hell are you defending her?"

"I'm not defending her. Yes, she deserves punishment for what she did," he began. "But both of us know that she really loved you, and that definitely wasn't a lie."

"She used and deceived me," I pointed out. She was the reason behind that dull, cold ache in my heart and I wasn't sure if I could ever forgive her for what she did.

"Maybe it started that way, but she really loved you." Luke tried to convince me. "And don't lie to yourself, you still care for her." He walked away and left me standing there.

Groaning, I looked at the back of his head before I walked into the courtroom. I stopped in my tracks and something in my heart ached as if someone poured salt in my fresh wounds. A police officer escorting was escorting her, and she was walking numbly with him, not looking around her. She looked defeated more than anything.

No matter how much I hated to admit it, but Luke was right. I tried to convince myself that I hated her, but I couldn't. I wanted to think about her as a stranger who did terrible things and needed to be punished, but all I could remember about her was the sweet, amazing girl I fell for.

No matter what, I had to testify against her face to face today. After all, I was a federal agent, and I had to go after what my conscience and oath obligated me to do.

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I walked into the courtroom. It was full of different people waiting for the trial to start, the jurors were already present in their boxed area. Per my counsel's advice, I tried not to look at them and focused my gaze in front of me.

The judge's high platform was in the middle waiting for him. I sighed as I walked with the guards until we reached the place where my attorney was sitting. The officer unlocked my handcuffs, and I sat next to him.

"Don't worry, Miss Lawrence, it's going to be alright," my lawyer said, trying to reassure me.

I gave him a little smile but didn't say anything. I already knew that nothing was going to be alright. They had a lot of damning evidence, not to mention the confession I gave when I was interrogated. They offered me a plea bargain in exchange for giving them information about important people in the black market, and about those who helped me sell the painting. I turned it down though; I couldn't risk giving them any more information that might lead back to Eric. And off to trial, I went.

My eyes wandered around until they found Eric. He looked nervous so I gave him a small reassuring smile.

The smile quickly disappeared, and a lump formed in my throat when Luke and Jake walked in and sat down a few chairs away from Eric. I was trying to stay strong as much as I could, but seeing Jake made me feel as if someone were squeezing my heart. Feeling the panic stir down in my system, I looked away and tried to avoid looking in his direction.

Long, painful minutes passed before the judge walked in and walked straight to the platform. He was an old man with white hair and a lot of wisdom in his eyes. We all stood up out of respect to him, then he sat and pounded his gavel twice indicating the start of the trial.

"We are prepared to go forward on the matter of the people vs. Emma Lawrence. We have the council present. We have the defendant and all jurors," the bailiff announced the beginning of the trial.

My attorney rose up from his position and started making his opening statement. Then all of the evidence they had on me got presented—including my confession. After that, it was time to call the witnesses to give their testimony.

The museum's manager was called first to give his testimony about the painting and how I had stolen his key card to get in. Then Declan came in handcuffed and started to narrate how he gave the alleged homeless man the painting, and then he said that he didn't know where Hunter was right now. After that, the last witness was called to give his testimony. Special Agent Jake Parker...

He didn't even glance in my direction as he passed by me and walked to the stand.

"Introduce yourself, please," the state prosecutor told him.

"Special agent, Jake Parker," he spoke up in measured tones.

"Agent Parker, is it true that you were at the Metropolitan Museum at the time of the heist?" the prosecutor asked.

"Yes, I was," he answered, calmly.

"And is it true that you were the only one who made contact with the thief?" the prosecutor questioned again.

"Yes, it's true," he said, not looking at me, and focusing his gaze on her.

"Have you seen her face that day?" the prosecutor threw in another question.

"No," Jake answered, maintaining a poker face.

The prosecutor looked at me with a cocky smile before she returned her gaze toward Jake. I took a long deep breath trying to make myself ready for the question that I was certain she was going to ask.

"Agent Parker, is it true that you had a relationship with Miss Lawrence. A love affair, maybe?" she asked with a smile playing on her lips.

"I—It's true," Jake answered, an uneasy look on his face.

The room started to buzz with whispers, and that made the judge pound with his gravel. "Order in my court," he demanded in a stern voice.

I closed my eyes and looked at the ground, tightening the grip of my hands out of stress. This was so far from my tolerance point.

"Objection," my attorney proclaimed. "What relevance does this really have to the case?"

"Overruled," the judge dismissed in an annoyed tone.

The prosecutor had a triumphant smile on her face as she returned to look at Jake. "Agent Parker, did you know who Miss Lawrence really was? And did that influence your actions?"

Jake sighed before he answered. "No. I didn't know until after the analysis of the photo and that's how we knew that Em—um, that Miss Lawrence was, in fact, the criminal."

I finally dared to look at him. He was cold and harsh with every answer. My heart thrashed in my chest, and I felt that every word coming out of his mouth was like a dagger that tore through my insides, making me take a step closer to breakdown.

The prosecutor asked Jake one more question. "You were the one who brought Miss Lawrence in, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was." Jake nodded.

"I have no further questions to agent Parker." The prosecutor walked back to her seat with a smile on her face as she was clearly pleased with herself.

Jake got off the stand, and on the way back to his seat, he gave me a look that shattered my heart into little pieces.

"Okay now, Miss Lawrence," the Judge called.

I stood up and was so anxious that I feared my feet would fail me, but I tried to gather the little amount of courage that was still left in me and focused my gaze on the judge.

"Miss Lawrence, was your confession involuntary or coerced in any way?" The judge was studying me thoroughly.

I swallowed hard. "No, your honor."

The judge nodded in disappointment before he explained to the jury that it was time for them to reach a decision. They disappeared for a while before they returned to the courtroom with a verdict.

"Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?" the judge asked.

One of the jurors stood up. "Yes, your honor. We have."

The judge nodded. "Members of the Jury, on the case of the people vs. Emma Lawrence, what you say?"

The Jury Spokesman cleared his throat before pronouncing. "Your honor, the members of this jury find the defendant guilty of Grand Larceny in the first degree."

I lowered my head, and smiled bitterly to myself, waiting for the judge's decision which would make everything come to an end.

The judge dismissed the jury and wrote something on a piece of paper before he finally focused his gaze on me.

"It's time," the judge said his statement with finality. "I agree with the jury on the verdict of guilt. And now, I will pass the sentence of the verdict. By the power given to me by the state of New York, I hereby sentence, Emma Lawrence, to spend five years in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility."

I closed my eyes and a quiet sob escaped my mouth. I looked at Eric who was pale and his eyes were as wide as they could be. I couldn't let myself breakdown in front of him, so I took a deep breath, and forced out a smile toward his direction to reassure him for a little bit.

After that, a police officer came and handcuffed me with my hands behind my back. My eyes wandered through the courtroom looking for Jake. I found him leaving with Luke. He stopped in his tracks and looked at me; our eyes connected for a few seconds. I guessed both of us were trying to tell the other something. I was trying to apologize to him again, but I wasn't sure if his look meant revulsion or grief.

He broke the look and walked away, then the officer started to escort me away. I walked compliantly with him until we got into the transportation vehicle that would drive me to the hellhole that I was going to spend the next half a decade of my life in.