Six months later the sun was warm and bright as we walked into the county courthouse for the final sentencing hearing. The large courtroom had tall dark oak panels and high windows that let in streams of natural daylight. Megan sat at the defense table wearing a plain orange county jail jumpsuit with her hands cuffed at her waist. She had lost her arrogant posture and looked pale exhausted and defeated by the harsh reality of her consequences. Her high-priced divorce lawyer could do nothing against the mountain of physical and digital evidence we presented.
The judge sat up on the high bench looking sternly down at Megan through his small silver glasses. He shuffled the official police files and the document forensic reports regarding the attempted trust theft. The courtroom was completely silent except for the rustle of official papers and the quiet ticking of the wall clock.
Judge: The court finds the defendant guilty of child abuse and attempted grand fraud against a minor's estate.
Megan: Please Your Honor! It was just a family dispute that got out of hand on Christmas!
Judge: Striking an eight-month-old infant in the face is not a dispute. It is a severe violent crime.
The judge slammed his wooden gavel down with a sharp bang that resonated through the large room. He sentenced Megan to three years in state prison without the possibility of early parole. Furthermore he placed a permanent lifetime restraining order forbidding her from ever coming within five hundred feet of our daughter Lily or our property. Megan burst into loud hysterical tears as the court bailiffs took hold of her arms and led her through the side door to serve her time.
Mark and I walked out of the heavy courtroom doors into the bright summer sunshine holding hands tightly. Lily was now over a year old toddling happily between us and laughing as she chased butterflies on the manicured courthouse lawn. Her cheek was completely smooth without a single mark or trace of that terrible cold winter night.
We sat down on a park bench under the shade of a massive green oak tree watching our healthy daughter play safely. We had protected our family from evil and reclaimed our peace through absolute justice and truth. The painful chapter was finally closed behind us leaving only love and safety for the bright future ahead of us.