Chapter 4: Judgment
Six months later.
Cook County Criminal Court was filled beyond capacity.
Reporters lined every hallway.
Every television station carried the trial.
The prosecution played the surveillance footage.
Again.
And again.
The jury never looked away.
Doctors testified Sophie's skull fracture could have become fatal if the blow had landed only an inch lower.
Digital experts confirmed the footage had never been altered.
Financial analysts explained Preston's enormous debts.
Then came the final witness.
Me.
The prosecutor asked quietly,
"When did you realize your brother had planned everything?"
I answered honestly.
"The moment he smiled."
"The smile said he'd already won."
"But he forgot something."
"The truth doesn't panic."
"It waits."
The courtroom fell silent.
After only four hours of deliberation...
The jury returned.
Guilty.
On every felony count.
Child abuse.
Aggravated battery.
Filing a false police report.
Evidence tampering.
Fraud conspiracy.
When the sentence was read...
Twelve years.
Preston looked toward our parents.
Neither stood.
Neither spoke.
For the first time in his life...
Nobody rescued him.
Richard Bennett quietly surrendered his partnership at the law firm weeks later.
His attempt to interfere with witnesses became its own disciplinary investigation.
My mother withdrew from every charity board she once proudly chaired.
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The Bennett name, once synonymous with prestige...
Became synonymous with betrayal.
