Chapter 7 - The Final Verdict
The jury deliberated for less than three hours.
When the courtroom doors opened at 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon, the atmosphere was thick with anticipation.
Garrick stood at the defense table, his hands trembling slightly, his lawyer standing beside him with a grim expression. Miriam looked down at her lap, unable to meet anyone's eyes.
"Will the defendants please stand," Judge Holloway commanded.
Garrick stood up, clearing his throat nervously.
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"
The foreperson, a stern woman in her fifties, stood up and held the official document. "We have, Your Honor."
"On Count One: Felony Domestic Battery resulting in severe bodily harm, how do you find the defendant, Garrick Ashford?"
"We find the defendant, Garrick Ashford... Guilty."
A sharp collective breath sounded across the gallery.
"On Count Two: False Imprisonment... Guilty."
"On Count Three: Coercive Control and Financial Fraud... Guilty."
"On Count Four: Tampering with a Witness... Guilty."
Garrick’s knees buckled slightly, his hands gripping the edge of the table as the weight of four consecutive guilty verdicts hit him like a physical blow.
"On Count Five: Accessory to Domestic Assault, how do you find the defendant, Miriam Ashford?"
"We find the defendant, Miriam Ashford... Guilty."
Miriam let out a strangled gasp, burying her face in her hands as her legal counsel patted her shoulder helplessly.
Judge Holloway turned her icy gaze toward Garrick and Miriam.
"Garrick Ashford, your actions demonstrate a appalling lack of remorse, humanity, and respect for the law," Judge Holloway declared firmly. "You leveraged your wealth and social status to inflict horrific suffering on an innocent person under the guise of marriage."
She picked up her pen, signing the official sentencing order.
"I sentence you, Garrick Ashford, to a term of fifteen years in state prison without the possibility of parole for the first ten years. Miriam Ashford, for your active complicity and obstruction of justice, you are sentenced to five years in state correctional facilities."
Garrick turned frantically toward the gallery, looking toward the prosecution table where Sienna sat beside me.
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"Sienna! Please!" Garrick yelled as bailiffs stepped forward to place him in heavy iron wrist and leg restraints. "Sienna! Tell them! We can fix this!"
Sienna didn't say a word. She simply picked up her handbag, offered him a small, pitying smile, and turned her back on him completely.
