Chapter 9 - The Verdict and the VoidThe jury deliberated for less than four hours.
When the verdict was read, the courtroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Guilty on all thirty-two counts of federal wire fraud, extortion, racketeering, and perjury.
My father was sentenced to twenty-five years in federal prison without the possibility of parole. Due to his age, it was effectively a life sentence. As the judge handed down the ruling, my father didn't look at me. He stared blankly ahead, a hollow, broken man whose kingdom of lies had finally collapsed onto his own head.
Daniel fared no better. His cooperation attempt had failed, and the judge had no sympathy for a man who would forge his wife's signature to steal her home. He was sentenced to seven years in a minimum-security facility.
Two days before Daniel was transferred to federal prison, he requested a visitor.
I didn't have to go. My therapist advised against it. But I needed to see it for myself. I needed to close the door permanently.
I sat in the sterile visitor's room behind a pane of thick, smudged plexiglass. The heavy steel door buzzed, and Daniel was led in by a guard. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands shackled to a waist chain. The arrogant, charming contractor who used to sweep me off my feet was entirely erased.
He picked up the phone on his side of the glass. His hands were shaking.
I picked up my receiver. I didn't speak.
"Thank you for coming," Daniel whispered, tears instantly welling in his eyes. "I know I don't deserve it. But I needed to see you one last time."
"You have two minutes, Daniel," I said coldly.
"I ruined everything," he sobbed, pressing his forehead against the glass. "Lauren left me. The state seized my company. I have nothing. I just... I need you to know that I loved you. I really did. I just got in too deep with your father. I was scared of him."
"You weren't scared, Daniel," I corrected him, my voice devoid of any pity. "You were greedy. You saw a shortcut to wealth, and you decided my trust was an acceptable price to pay."
"I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you," he begged.
"You will spend the rest of your life as a footnote in my past," I replied evenly. "I didn't come here to offer you forgiveness. I came here to look at you, and to realize that I feel absolutely nothing. You are a stranger in an orange suit."
Daniel let out a pathetic, broken sob, sliding down slightly in his plastic chair.
"Enjoy the cell, Daniel," I said.
May you like
I hung up the receiver, stood up, and walked out of the visitor's room without looking back. As the heavy steel doors closed behind me, I stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight. I took a deep breath of the crisp, clean air.
The heavy, suffocating weight that had rested on my chest for years was completely gone. I was free.
