Chapter 9 - The Handcuff VerdictI looked at my sister through the iron bars—the woman who had put my life in a paper bag and smiled as she locked the deadbolt.
“You didn't know the full amount, Lena,” I said quietly. “But you knew he took Dad’s insurance money. You knew I was paying the mortgage while you lived rent-free. You let him throw my shoes onto the porch because you thought I had nothing left to give you.”
“I’m sorry, Audrey!” Lena sobbed, dropping to her knees on the sidewalk. “I’m so sorry!”
“I forgive you as my sister, Lena,” I said, my voice steady and unshakeable. “But forgiveness does not mean I will save you from the consequences of your own choices.”
Six months later, the criminal trial concluded at the Franklin County Courthouse.
Derek was sentenced to twelve years in state prison for grand larceny, identity theft, and loan fraud, with full financial restitution ordered.
Lena avoided prison time by entering a court-mandated diversion program, but she was ordered to pay back forty thousand dollars in civil penalties and complete five hundred hours of community service.
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The old family house was officially sold through my trust, with fifty percent of the net proceeds placed into a secure medical trust for my mother’s healthcare.
The traitors had lost everything they tried to steal.
