Chapter 8 - The Trial of Shattered Glass
Three months later, the courtroom was packed for Ethan’s criminal trial. The story of the corporate fraud investigator who brought down her abusive husband and his corrupt family had hit the local headlines, drawing a crowd of reporters and supporters.
I took the witness stand, my arm out of the cast now, though a faint surgical scar remained near my wrist where pins had been inserted to set the bone.
Ethan’s lawyer tried one last desperate tactic during cross-examination. "Mrs. Vance, isn't it true that you were emotionally cold during the marriage? That you controlled the finances completely, driving my client to a point of sheer desperation?"
I looked at the defense lawyer, then turned to face the jury.
"I didn't control him," I said clearly. "I protected our household from his family's reckless financial crimes. And when he realized he couldn't manipulate my mind, he chose to break my body. No amount of financial stress justifies a man pinning his wife against a banister and snapping her arm."
The jury deliberated for less than two hours.
"On the count of felony aggravated assault, we find the defendant, Ethan Vance, guilty." "On the count of witness intimidation, guilty." "On the count of grand larceny and financial fraud, guilty."
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Ethan was sentenced to twelve years in a maximum-security state prison. Natalie received five years of probation and a massive restitution order that would keep her bankrupt for the rest of her life. Victoria was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for tax evasion and money laundering.
As the bailiffs led Ethan away in chains, he stopped, looking at me one last time with hollow, defeated eyes. The man who had sat at my table laughing at my pain was gone. There was only a criminal facing the consequences of his arrogance.
