M. Gessen

Then she finally got angry that Alan valued her life, or I guess her death, so little that he'd haggled, wanting to get rid of her on the cheap.

Her sense of relief now came from having other people see what she'd been through, but also what she hadn't wanted to see, what she'd tried to push away by feeling sorry for Alan.

The verdict said, Alan is rotten, objectively rotten.

It was no longer her private war with Alan.

It was now the United States versus Alan Gessen.

I could hear the relief in Priscilla's voice.

And I thought I could hear something else, too.

Priscilla had done so much waiting for documents, visas, court decisions, then for this trial.

And now finally, Alan would be locked away and Priscilla could start living her life.

This is going to be the first story in my career where the FBI are the good guys.

What sentence do you want for him now?

Me too, Priscilla.

Me too.

The maximum sentence possible was 10 years.

And assuming he gets 10 years or thereabouts, have you given any thought to what happens when he comes out of prison?

Priscilla was hoping that Alan would serve his time somewhere far away from her and the kids because she was afraid he'd get someone, maybe someone he met in prison, to come after her.

I couldn't understand why.

She had felt haunted by Alan for almost four years now.

She hadn't felt safe walking or driving or even being in her own apartment.

The one time she let her guard down when she thought they'd reached an agreement, he hired someone to kill her.