Chapter 9 - Justice Served
The day of Cordelia's criminal trial arrived with massive public attention and heavy security.
Julian sat in the front row of the courtroom, holding Ivy on his lap while Sarah held Maeve beside him.
Cordelia was brought in wearing an orange jumpsuit, her arrogant posture completely gone.
She looked small, pathetic, and terrified of the jury staring at her with pure disgust.
The prosecutor played the security footage on the massive screen in the center of the room.
The entire courtroom gasped in horror as they watched the girls being starved while gourmet food was thrown into the garbage.
Blair had taken a plea deal and testified against her former boss, revealing every disgusting detail of the black-market operation.
When it was Julian's turn to speak, he handed Ivy to Sarah and walked up to the witness stand.
He did not yell, nor did he lose his temper.
He simply looked at the jury and spoke from his broken, healing heart.
"I paid this woman to protect my most precious treasures, and she turned my home into a prison," Julian stated firmly.
"She stole their joy, she stole their health, and she stole their innocence."
Julian pointed directly at Cordelia.
"Lock her away, so she can never hurt another child again."
The jury took less than two hours to reach a unanimous verdict.
Cordelia Vance was found guilty on all fifty counts of fraud, child endangerment, and grand theft.
The judge sentenced her to thirty-five years in federal prison without the possibility of early parole.
As the bailiffs dragged a screaming Cordelia out of the courtroom, Julian walked back to his family.
May you like
He took Sarah's hand, and together, they walked out into the bright, warm sunshine.
The nightmare was finally over.
