Chapter 3: The Verdict
The jury returned faster than anyone expected.
That alone said everything.
The foreperson stood. “On the charge of first-degree domestic assault and false imprisonment, we find the defendant, Julian Vance—guilty.”
A wave of sound swept through the courtroom—gasps, whispers, disbelief.
The judge didn’t react.
She simply looked at Julian like he was no longer worth the effort of anger.
“You used wealth as a weapon,” she said. “You used influence as a shield. And you used another human being as something beneath you.”
A pause.
“Sentence: twelve years in state prison. No parole.”
The gavel came down.
Sharp. Final.
Julian turned in his seat, searching the room.
For someone. Anyone.
His eyes found his father at the back.
Arthur Vance didn’t move.
Didn’t nod.
May you like
Didn’t look back.
For the first time in his life, Julian realized he had finally lost everything that had ever protected him.
