Chapter 4 - The Injustice System
The arraignment was a masterclass in legal manipulation.
Sterling painted Mark as a pillar of the community, a successful real estate developer who donated to police charities. He painted Sarah as a hysterical, emotionally unstable woman who was using her police-officer sister to extort a favorable divorce settlement.
I sat in the gallery, my fingernails digging bloody crescents into my palms.
"Given the defendant's lack of criminal history and strong community ties," the judge droned, completely blind to the reality of domestic abusers, "bail is set at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The defendant is ordered to surrender his passport and have zero contact with the victim."
Mark didn't even blink. He pulled a checkbook from his tailored suit and handed it to his lawyer. He was buying his freedom before the ink on the police report was even dry.
As he walked down the center aisle of the courtroom, a free man, he paused right next to my row. He didn't look at me, but he whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
May you like
"Tell Sarah I'll see her soon."
I stood up, my hand instinctively dropping to where my service weapon usually rested. But I was off-duty, in a courtroom. I had to play by the rules. Mark didn't. And that made him incredibly dangerous.
