Chapter 11
The loud CRACK of the gavel signaled the end of Vanessa’s freedom.
Bailiffs stepped forward immediately from the side doors of the courtroom. Before Vanessa could even react, two female officers clamped heavy steel handcuffs around her wrists.
“Wait! No! Dad! Julian!” Vanessa shrieked, her meek facade entirely shattering into wild, frantic screams as she was pulled away from the defense table. “You can’t lock me up! Richard, tell them! Tell them to stop!”
Dad didn't even turn his head to look at her as she was led through the side exit to the holding cell. Arthur Vance sat frozen at his table, a broken man whose dynasty had collapsed in a single afternoon. Julian grabbed his briefcase and walked out of the courtroom without saying a word to his father or his sister, desperate to save whatever was left of his own personal reputation.
The District Attorney turned to Dad and me, offering a broad, triumphant smile. “She’s facing a mandatory minimum of two years in a state facility, Mr. Sterling. Her lawyers will offer a plea deal by tomorrow morning, and I guarantee she will serve real time.”
“Thank you, DA Stevens,” Dad said, shaking his hand firmly.
We walked out of the courtroom together, stepping out onto the sunlit marble steps of the courthouse. The press reporters tried to crowd around us, thrusting microphones forward, but Dad placed a protective arm around my shoulder, guiding me smoothly through the crowd without answering a single gossip question.
We got into Dad’s car, the quiet interior feeling like a sanctuary after the noise of the trial.
For the first time in weeks, the heavy weight that had rested on my shoulders seemed to lift entirely, floating away in the warm afternoon breeze.
Dad started the engine, but before pulling out into traffic, he turned to face me.
“I got a call from the estate lawyer this morning, Maya,” Dad said softly, a small, genuine smile appearing on his face. “Your mother’s old coastal cottage in Maine—the one we rented out three years ago?”
My eyes widened. “The house near the lighthouse?”
“The lease expires at the end of this month,” Dad said, his eyes bright with happiness. “And since Sterling Legal Group is a fully remote firm now… I was thinking we could pack up the house, move up there for the entire fall, and finally rebuild the life we were supposed to have.”
I looked at my bandaged hands, now almost fully healed, then out at the bright blue sky above the city.
May you like
“I’d like that, Dad,” I said, leaning my head back against the leather seat. “I’d really like that.”
Dad smiled, put the car in drive, and pulled away from the courthouse, leaving the past, Vanessa, and the broken wheelchair far behind us in the rearview mirror.
