Chapter 8 - Cracks in the MonopolyThe jury deliberated for less than an hour.
When they returned to the courtroom, the verdicts were read with brutal, swift finality: GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS FOR ALL DEFENDANTS.
The judge, known for his stern rulings on domestic abuse and financial corruption, delivered a scathing speech before handing down the sentences.
âEvan Sterling,â the judge declared, âyou acted with systematic cruelty, hiding your greed behind physical violence and emotional degradation. I sentence you to thirty years in federal prison, without the possibility of parole.â
Evan collapsed into his chair, weeping hysterically.
âRaymond Sterling,â the judge continued, âfor your masterminding of wire fraud, grand larceny, and corporate embezzlement, you are sentenced to twenty-five years in federal prison.â
âJudith Sterling,â the judge concluded, âfor conspiracy and witness tampering, you are sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison.â
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As the heavy steel handcuffs clicked around their wrists, federal marshals led all three defendants away through the side door.
Paige, who had avoided prison by agreeing to turn over all stolen assets, sat weeping alone in the back row of the gallery, completely bankrupt and abandoned by the high-society friends who had once catered to her every whim.
