Chapter 9 - The Verdict and The Hammer
The jury deliberated for less than three hours.
When they filed back into the courtroom, the tension was suffocating. I sat in the front row, holding Sarah’s hand.
“On the charge of Grand Larceny, we find the defendant, Chloe Vance… Guilty.”
Chloe flinched.
“On the charge of Forgery, we find the defendant… Guilty.”
“On the charge of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree… we find the defendant… Guilty.”
Chloe let out a piercing shriek. “No! You can’t do this! I’m Chloe Vance! You can't put me in prison!”
The judge banged his gavel fiercely. “Order in the court! Miss Vance, you have shown an absolute lack of remorse for a heinous, calculated crime against a woman who did nothing but try to raise you. It is the sentence of this court that you serve twenty-five years in the state penitentiary, without the possibility of parole for fifteen years.”
The courtroom erupted. Chloe collapsed into her chair, hysterical, screaming for her father.
Arthur didn't stand up to comfort her. He remained seated in the gallery, staring blankly at the wall, a hollow shell of a man who had lost everything. His daughter was going to prison. His wife was gone. His legacy was destroyed.
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I stood up, smoothed out my skirt, and walked out of the courtroom into the bright summer sunshine. The heavy weight I had carried for months finally lifted off my shoulders.
I was free.
