Chapter 8 - The Criminal Verdict
Two months later, the criminal trial concluded at the King County Superior Court.
The evidence was too overwhelming, the school nurse's testimony too heartbreaking, and the recorded phone calls too damning for any jury to ignore. The trial lasted only three days.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours.
"Will the defendants please rise," Judge Reyes commanded.
Patricia and Claire stood up, clutching each other’s hands, trembling violently. Daniel sat in the back row of the gallery, alone, looking like a ghost of the man he once was.
"On Count One, Criminal Child Endangerment resulting in severe bodily harm, how do you find?" Judge Reyes asked the jury foreperson.
"Guilty," the foreperson stated clearly.
"On Count Two, Reckless Endangerment, how do you find?"
"Guilty."
"On Count Three, Failure to Render Aid to a Minor, how do you find?"
"Guilty."
Screams of anguish erupted from Claire as she collapsed onto the table. Patricia froze, staring blankly at the wall, her mind unable to process the total destruction of her gilded life.
Judge Reyes didn't hesitate. She delivered the sentence immediately.
"Patricia Carter, for your callous disregard for human life and gross criminal negligence toward your vulnerable grandchild, you are sentenced to seven years at the Washington Corrections Center for Women without possibility of early parole for four years."
Patricia let out a strangled gasp, her knees giving out completely as two female bailiffs caught her under her arms.
"Claire Carter, for your active participation in abandoning a minor in medical crisis, you are sentenced to four years imprisonment."
As the bailiffs led Patricia and Claire away in heavy chains, their weeping echoing down the marble hallway, Daniel stumbled out of the courtroom, completely broken.
I walked out onto the front steps of the courthouse, taking a deep breath of the crisp, clean autumn air.
May you like
Marcus walked beside me. "It's officially over, Eva. The civil court has finalized the total transfer of the Carter trust assets to Lily's sole custody trust. The divorce is final. You have sole custody, zero visitation for Daniel, and absolute freedom."
I closed my eyes, letting the cool wind kiss my face. For the first time in months, the heavy, suffocating iron chest plate I had been wearing seemed to melt away.
