Chapter 7 - The Trial of the Stepfamily
The trial of Edward, Jason, and Helen was a media circus, but I refused to let it consume me. I attended only the days I was required to testify.
When I took the stand, Edward couldn't even look at me. He sat at the defense table, looking twenty years older, his arrogance entirely beaten out of him by the reality of federal prison.
The prosecutor played the audio of my panic button recording. The entire courtroom listened in horrifying silence as Jason’s voice echoed through the speakers: “Sign over Julian’s estate to us, and maybe you’ll see her again.”
Then came the sound of my babies crying.
The jury didn't even need to deliberate for a full day. They came back in four hours.
Guilty on all counts.
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Kidnapping. Extortion. Conspiracy.
The judge showed zero leniency. Edward received twenty-five years. Jason received twenty. Helen received fifteen. They were dragged out of the courtroom crying, realizing too late that the wealth they tried to steal had bought them nothing but a cage.
