Chapter 9 - The Sentencing
The trial was a slaughter.
Diego, attempting to save himself, took the stand and detailed his mother's long history of financial extortion and physical intimidation. But his plea deal fell through when Marcus's legal team mysteriously "uncovered" emails proving Diego had premeditated the assault to force Isabella into signing the deed.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours.
Victoria Vargas was sentenced to fifteen years in state prison for aggravated battery and extortion.
Diego, the golden boy, was sentenced to seven years as an accessory and co-conspirator.
When the sentences were read, the silence in the courtroom was profound. Isabella reached out and held my hand on one side, and Marcus's hand on the other. A heavy, suffocating weight lifted off her shoulders. The monsters who had tried to break her were going to spend the best years of their lives locked in concrete cages.
Outside the courthouse, the Miami sun felt warmer, brighter.
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"It's over," Isabella breathed, looking up at the sky.
Marcus put a protective arm around her shoulders. "It's just beginning, baby girl."
