Chapter 9 - The Final Verdict
The jury deliberated for a remarkably short duration—forty-two minutes.
When the buzzer sounded, signaling a verdict, the courtroom fell into a heavy, suffocating silence. The judge re-entered from his chambers, adjusting his glasses as the foreman of the jury stood up holding a crisp white envelope.
"Has the jury reached a verdict?" the bailiff asked.
"We have, Your Honor," the foreman replied clearly.
"On the count of attempted first-degree murder, how do you find the defendant?"
"Guilty."
"On the count of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, how do you find the defendant?"
"Guilty."
"On the counts of wire fraud, grand larceny, and corporate embezzlement, how do you find the defendant?"
"Guilty on all counts, Your Honor."
A collective murmur erupted from the press gallery, but Victor didn't make a sound. He simply slumped forward in his chair, burying his face in his shackled hands as the reality of his lifetime sentence finally crushed down upon him.
The judge banged his gavel once, the sharp crack echoing through the courtroom like a gunshot.
"Victor Hale, you are hereby sentenced to serve consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole at the United States Penitentiary, ADX Florence. May God have mercy on your soul."
May you like
As the federal marshals grabbed Victor by the shoulders and hauled him toward the detention exit, he caught one last glimpse of me sitting proudly in the front row. I didn't smile, and I didn't frown. I simply looked at him the way a scientist looks at a specimen under a microscope—detached, superior, and completely indifferent.
He had tried to bury me in the snow. Instead, he had dug his own grave.
