Chapter 9 - The Sentencing
The criminal trial of Marcus Kensington lasted exactly four days.
The defense tried to argue it was a moment of panic, a chaotic ER, a tragic mistake.
But the prosecution called the triage nurse to the stand. She tearfully pointed at Marcus and recounted exactly how cold and dismissive he had been when Sarah was screaming for help.
Then, Sarah took the stand.
She didn't cry. She didn't yell. She spoke with a quiet, devastating clarity that commanded the entire courtroom. She described the heat of Leo's skin. The way his little fists clenched her shirt. The way he seized while his father turned his back.
When the jury came back, it took them less than two hours.
Guilty on all counts.
The judge, a stern man with children of his own, looked down at Marcus.
"Mr. Kensington," the judge said, his voice dripping with contempt. "You are the most despicable excuse for a father I have ever seen in my courtroom. You traded your own child's life for an affair. There is no sentence I can give you that will equal the hell you deserve."
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Marcus was sentenced to fifteen years in state prison. As the bailiffs dragged him away, he looked back at Sarah one last time.
She didn't look away. She held his gaze until the heavy wooden doors of the courtroom swallowed him whole.
