Claim Me Captain! I'm Addicted to You!-Chapter 437: Verdict (3)

Georgia’s voice grew, breaking.

"If it were up to me, I’d want you drowning the way David did—"

Nancy sobbed harder.

"—bleeding the way Martha did—"

More sobs.

"—and begging the way I begged while you smiled, as the ship sailed away."

Nick lifted a hand to stop her.

But Georgia’s fury burned too bright.

"You don’t deserve forgiveness. You don’t deserve peace. And you certainly don’t deserve to die that easily. If it’s up to me, I prefer you getting eaten by sharks while you are conscious and crying in pain. "

She straightened.

"You and Raymond don’t even deserve death. That’s actually an easy way out. You both deserve to rot in hell while your skin and flesh burn over and over, every day and every night!"

Nancy’s face collapsed completely—despair, terror, heartbreak melding into one.

Georgia took a long, shaking breath.

"The people you hurt and killed don’t deserve what they have gone through. I don’t deserve what you did to me, and yet you are shameless to even think of asking for forgiveness!"

Georgia laughed sarcastically one last time.

"Now, go to hell! I will throw a party on the day of your deaths!" she roared, voice echoing in the whole room.

The judge finally signaled.

"That’s enough. Officers, take the defendants."

Raymond, finally snapping out of his shock, lunged toward Georgia, screaming:

"GEORGIA, I’M SORRY! I LOVE YOU—I ALWAYS LOVED YOU—PLEASE—"

He barely took two steps—

*THUD*

Nick’s fist collided with Raymond’s jaw so hard that the man flew backward and hit the floor.

The courtroom erupted.

Cameras flashed.

People screamed.

Officers swarmed, blocking Nick from moving further.

"Shut your filthy mouth. How dare you try to approach my wife!" Nick snarled. "Just go and die."

The officers quickly rushed to Raymond and dragged him away, dazed, bloodless.

Nancy followed, sobbing hysterically.

The moment the doors slammed shut behind the defendants, Georgia went weak.

Her knees buckled.

Vicky and Ella caught her, guiding her to a chair.

Nick dropped to his knees before her, hands on her thighs, panic written across his face.

"Georgia, Georgia, look at me, are you okay?"

She looked at him through tears, shaking, overwhelmed, but smiling.

A soft, broken smile.

She cupped his face with trembling hands.

"Nick..."

Her voice cracked.

"Thank you."

He froze.

"For keeping your promise on the island."

Tears slid down her cheeks.

"For fighting for David, and finally getting justice... for fighting for me... for saving the company that my family worked hard for... for loving me the way no one ever has."

Nick’s eyes softened, glossed with emotion.

She continued; she was unstoppable. "Thank you for making me your family. Thank you for everything that you have done for me and everything that you will do in the future. I owe you my life."

Georgia leaned forward.

"I love you," she whispered. "I love you so much."

Then she kissed him.

Not gently.

Not shyly.

But with every ounce of grief, relief, love, pain, and rebirth she carried.

The entire courtroom erupted—

Cheers, applause, sobs—

And from the back, cameras captured it all.

Broadcast live.

The moment justice was served.

The moment Georgia Lewis finally reclaimed her life.

The moment Nicholas Knight caught her, steady and sure, and didn’t let go.

The moment the world saw them rise from the ashes. Together.

Before Georgia or Nick could take a breath, the room shifted as Raymond’s parents and Nancy’s parents approached them, faces pale and etched with desperation. Solana Davis, Raymond’s mother, and Jefferson Davis knelt before Georgia, while Nancy’s mother and father mirrored the gesture on the other side of Nick.

"Please... We ask forgiveness on behalf of our children. Please forgive them," they pleaded in unison, voices cracking. "Please... lower their sentences to life imprisonment even without the possibility of parole... we beg you... Death is too much! Please, have mercy..."

The words barely registered before Colleen Hobbs, still trembling from the weight of loss, flung her still almost full water bottle straight to the Davises and Baskins. It splashed across the polished courtroom floor and the shocked faces of the Davis and Baskin family.

Irene Lam didn’t hesitate as well. With a sharp, contemptuous spit, she added her own condemnation directly toward them.

The Davis and Baskin parents froze. Colleen’s shoulders heaved violently as she collapsed onto the floor, unable to speak through her tears.

Irene stepped forward, her voice cutting through the stunned silence like a whip:

"You have the audacity to ask for forgiveness when they were not the only ones who have suffered! Such shamelessness!" she shouted. "Do you think Georgia Lewis and Nicholas Knight are the only victims? Georgia’s brother is dead, and he has a daughter, a very young 6-year-old girl, left in this world. It’s because of your son!"

She pointed sharply at Colleen, who was sobbing, leaning on Vicky and Ella, trying to calm her. " Same with her sister. Your daughter, Nancy, stole a life from another family. Do you think you can apologize for that? Her sister was a single mother, working hard on that cruise ship, away from her 6-year-old daughter, just to give her a decent life. But now she can’t because your daughter killed her!"

Irene laughed like a person who had lost her sanity.

"And me? I lost my husband and unborn child, all within a year of getting married. I wasn’t even able to celebrate my first wedding anniversary with my husband, because your children are spoiled privilege brats who have chronic mental issues because their parents refused to address it!" Irene’s voice roared the room and she wasn’t done.

"You think I wouldn’t know? You think we wouldn’t find out that behind their actions were their parents tolerating them instead of stopping them! Have some shame for the sake of your other children and future grandchildren! You knew about this. You tolerated them. You allowed this to happen."

Her angry voice started to shake, tears flowed from her eyes.

"Our family and friends... They all pay for the consequences of your children’s actions!"

Her voice rose to a crescendo, echoing through the silent courtroom. "So NO! I will be shameless as well, and I will speak on behalf of David Lewis, Georgia, Katie, Captain Nicholas Knight, Martha, my husband Frank, and my unborn child.

You, Raymond, and Nancy, will not be forgiven—not by me, not by anyone who lost someone because of Raymond Davis and Nancy Baskin! You’ve had your wealth, your privilege, your influence—but none of it can undo the deaths, the pain, the nightmares your children inflicted!"

Irene smiled, a smile with pain. "We are very satisfied with the judge’s decision. So don’t even think about begging the judge to lower their sentence. Dream on! See you on their death day! We will surely watch and make sure we see their last breath!"

The parents were crying openly now, wailing against the tidal wave of truth hitting them. They reached for Georgia and Nick, but the officers stepped forward, arms firm, holding them back.

Oliver and Liam carefully held Irene and Colleen’s arms and slowly pulled them out of the courtroom.

Georgia felt Nick’s hand tighten around hers, grounding her, giving her courage. Her heart raced, not from fear, but from the responsibility of bearing witness to this reckoning.

Slowly, she reached into her bag and retrieved two tissue packs, slipping them into the hands of Raymond and Nancy’s mothers.

"Here," she said softly, guiding their trembling hands.

They both look at her.

"Stand up," Georgia said gently.

The mothers looked at her with wide, teary eyes, overwhelmed by the empathy in Georgia’s tone. She guided them into a hug, and for a moment, the world outside the courtroom ceased to exist. The mothers clung to her, crying into her shoulders, gasping from the weight of their shame and grief.

Georgia rubbed their backs. "Hang in there; you have other children and family back at home. I’m a mother too, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you have to go through this. I know how painful it is. I hope that one day you can recover from this. I truly wish you well... for the sake of everyone left behind," she said before letting them go.

She stepped back, taking Nick’s hand as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You did well, baby," he murmured. "I’m proud of you."

Georgia managed a small, bittersweet smile. "Let’s go home, my love. I miss Katie. I miss our home. Let’s go back."

Together, they walked toward the courthouse doors. Reporters shouted questions, flashes of cameras painted the walls with white bursts of light, but bodyguards kept the crowd at bay. Georgia held Nick’s hand tightly, walking forward without looking back.

The cameras captured everything: Georgia’s resolve, Nick’s unwavering support, and the mixture of triumph and grief etched into every face around them. The world had watched, and justice had finally been served.

For Georgia, for Katie, for David, and for every life touched and torn apart by Raymond and Nancy, it was over.

And as she stepped into the sunlight, holding Nick’s hand, she knew that finally—truly—they could begin again.