Chapter 9 - THE SENTENCING
On the crisp autumn morning of the sentencing, the courtroom was packed to absolute capacity with reporters and curious onlookers. Eleanor looked remarkably small and fragile inside her bright orange jumpsuit, stripped of all her wealth and social standing.
When the stern-faced judge finally announced the verdict—fifteen years in a high-security state correctional facility with zero possibility of early parole—the entire courtroom collectively exhaled.
As the bailiffs stepped forward to escort her out, Eleanor turned her head to lock eyes with me one last time. "You'll be completely ruined and alone without my guidance," she whispered through the glass partition.
May you like
"I've never been more surrounded by genuine love," I replied calmly, wrapping my arm securely around my wife and son.
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