Chapter 13 - The Sentence of the Sinner
The sentencing phase began immediately.
"Linda Whitmore, Mark Whitmore," the judge said, her voice quiet and steady. "For your crimes against your daughter and the state, I sentence you to ten years in a federal penitentiary."
"Emily Whitmore, although you were a minor when the trust was established, your active participation in the embezzlement and your systematic harassment of the victim as an adult cannot be ignored. I sentence you to three years of probation and five hundred hours of community service at a burn rehabilitation center."
A collective, emotional sigh of relief swept through the courtroom.
Emily fell back into her seat, her hands covering her face as she sobbed hysterically, realizing that her elegant life had been replaced by a court-ordered reality of cleaning bedpans and washing floors at the very clinic she had mocked.
As they were led out in handcuffs, my parents looked at me one last time, their eyes filled with a desperate, silent plea for mercy.
May you like
I simply stood up, took Daniel’s hand, and walked out of the courtroom into the bright Charleston sunshine.
I was free.
