Chapter 4 - THE WEIGHING OF SCALES
After deliberating for less than ninety minutes, the jury returned to the courtroom.
The foreman stood up, holding a stack of heavy paper forms.
“On the first count of aggravated domestic assault resulting in serious bodily injury, how do you find the defendant, Derek Vance?” Judge Thomas asked.
“Guilty, Your Honor,” the foreman replied clearly.
“On the second count of felony child endangerment resulting in fetal demise?”
“Guilty.”
“On the counts of conspiracy, unlawful confinement, and coercion against both defendants, Derek Vance and Teresa Vance?”
“Guilty on all counts.”
A collective gasp rippled through the gallery.
Judge Thomas adjusted his glasses, looking down from the elevated bench with a gaze of unyielding severity. He addressed Derek and Teresa directly.
“For decades, courts have struggled to pierce the veil of domestic tyranny behind closed doors,” Judge Thomas said, his voice echoing off the courtroom walls. “You operated a reign of terror, believing that isolation and fear would keep your victim silent forever. You underestimated her intelligence, her resilience, and her courage.”
The judge picked up his heavy wooden gavel.
“Derek Vance, I sentence you to forty-five years in federal and state penitentiary without the possibility of parole. Teresa Vance, you are sentenced to thirty-five years for your direct orchestration and complicity in these crimes. May God have mercy on your souls.”
Bang.
May you like
The gavel struck wood with the finality of a falling guillotine.
Teresa let out a piercing shriek, collapsing back into her chair as court deputies grabbed her arms and hoisted her to her feet. Derek didn't fight back; he stared blankly ahead as the cold steel handcuffs were reapplied, led out of the courtroom and out of Elena’s life forever.
