Chapter 6 - The Unraveling of Hannah
The publicity from the press conference destroyed whatever remained of the Vance family’s defense strategy.
Within forty-eight hours, Richard Vance formally withdrew as their legal counsel, citing an irreconcilable conflict of interest and non-payment of legal fees. The public defender’s office was assigned to represent George and Hannah.
Six weeks after the attack, a mental competency hearing was scheduled for Hannah Vance at the state psychiatric facility where she had been transferred following a series of violent outbursts in the county jail.
Mark and I sat in the high-security observation room behind a one-way mirror, watching the evaluation.
Hannah sat at a small steel table, dressed in a thick grey sweater, her hands resting in her lap. Her jaw had healed, but her face was gaunt, her eyes hollow and dark.
Across from her sat Dr. Elizabeth Vance (no relation), a court-appointed forensic psychiatrist.
“Hannah,” Dr. Vance said softly, opening a thick folder. “Do you understand why you are currently in custody?”
Hannah let out a soft, chilling laugh. “Because Madison is selfish. She always has been.”
“Your sister gave birth to twins, Hannah,” Dr. Vance said calmly. “Why did you believe one of those children belonged to you?”
Hannah leaned forward, her eyes suddenly wide, burning with a terrifying, delusional intensity.
“Because God promised me a child!” Hannah shrieked, her hands slamming against the table. “I suffered for five years! I spent fifty thousand dollars on needles, surgeries, and doctors! Madison didn't even want children! She was focused on her stupid career! It wasn't fair that she got two while I had none!”
“So you planned to take one?”
“Dad said we were taking him!” Hannah shouted, tears streaming down her hollow cheeks. “He said Madison owed us! We had the nursery ready at Dad’s house! I bought the clothes! I picked out his name! His name was supposed to be Oliver!”
In the observation room, I felt a shudder pass through my frame.
She had bought clothes. She had picked out a name. She had built a complete, psychotic fantasy world around my unborn child while I was still pregnant.
“And what happened in the hospital room, Hannah?” Dr. Vance asked gently.
“Madison ruined it!” Hannah spat, her face twisting into a mask of pure venom. “She screamed! She made Dad mad! If she had just signed the paper quietly, nobody would have gotten hurt! She made Dad hit her! It’s her fault!”
Dr. Vance closed her folder slowly, looking toward the one-way mirror where the prosecutor stood.
“The defendant demonstrates zero remorse, extreme personality delusion, and active homicidal fixation toward the victim,” Dr. Vance noted into her recorder. “She is fully aware of her actions, legally sane, and represents an extreme, permanent danger to society.”
Behind the mirror, Mark squeezed my hand softly.
May you like
“She’s going away for a very long time, Maddie,” Mark whispered.
“Good,” I said, turning away from the glass, looking at the lockscreen on my phone—a picture of Leo and Jonah sleeping peacefully in their cribs at home. “Because my sons have a life to live, and she is never going to be part of it.”
