Chapter 13 - The Trial of Silence
The criminal trial of Julian Vantage was brief and unmerciful.
Faced with high-definition video evidence, forensic reports of the leather strap marks, digital backups from the server room, and the unyielding testimony of Clara Vance, the defense team offered no viable counter-arguments.
On the third day of the proceedings, Julian sat at the defense table in a orange prison jumpsuit, his head bowed, stripped of his expensive suits and arrogant posture.
The jury deliberated for less than forty-five minutes.
Guilty on all counts: Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Domestic Battery, and False Imprisonment.
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Judge Sarah Montgomery delivered the maximum sentence allowed under state law: twelve years in a maximum-security state penitentiary, without the possibility of parole for the first eight years.
As the sentence was pronounced, Clara sat in the front row of the gallery between Marcus and Eleanor. She didn't cry. She didn't celebrate. She simply stood up, adjusted her blazer, and walked out of the courtroom into the bright afternoon sunlight, leaving the shadow of Julian Vantage behind in the dark room where he belonged.
