Chapter 9 - The Handcuff VerdictSix months later, the criminal trial concluded at the County Superior Court.
Vanessa and my mother sat at the defense table in matching orange inmate jumpsuits, their former high-society glamour completely destroyed, their faces hollow with defeat.
The jury deliberated for less than forty-five minutes before returning a unanimous GUILTY verdict on counts of attempted child abduction, grand conspiracy, corporate fraud, and assault with a dangerous substance.
The presiding judge delivered a scathing sentence from the bench:
âEvelyn Miller and Vanessa Miller, you attempted to steal a newborn child from her motherâs womb for financial greed and sociopathic vanity. Your actions display a terrifying absence of human decency.â
My mother, Evelyn, was sentenced to twenty-eight years in state prison.
Vanessa was sentenced to twenty-two years in prison.
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My father received eight years for his role as co-conspirator.
As court marshals led them away in heavy iron chains, Daniel and I stood up in the gallery holding baby Maya, watching them leave forever with calm, quiet dignity.
