Chapter 9 - The Verdict
The trial lasted three agonizing weeks, but it was a slam dunk for the prosecution.
The most damning evidence wasn't the hard drive or the vials. It was a video recording David had secretly made of one of his "experiments." When it was played for the jury, showing him coldly timing a weeping, terrified Lily, the courtroom went dead silent. The judge looked at him with pure disgust.
David tried to play the role of the misunderstood genius, representing himself for a portion of the trial to argue his intellect, but it only proved to the jury exactly what a narcissistic psychopath he truly was.
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The verdict was unanimous. Guilty on all counts, including child endangerment, possession of illegal biochemical substances, and treasonous corporate espionage. The judge handed down a sentence of forty-five years in federal prison, without the possibility of parole.
As the bailiff led him away, he turned to look at me one last time. There was no charming smile. Just the empty, pathetic stare of a broken man who had lost everything. I didn't look away. I stared right back until the doors closed behind him.
