Chapter 6 - The Trial of the TraitorEight months after the party, the final sentencing hearing for Daniel Vance took place before the State Superior Court.
Daniel sat at the defense table wearing a plain beige prison jumpsuit, his hands and ankles bound by steel chains. He was gaunt, his hair thinned out, dark circles hollowed under his bloodshot eyes. He looked like a hollowed-out shell of the arrogant man who had once slapped his daughter over a dress.
Sophie and I sat in the front row of the gallery, flanked by my four brothers—Gabriel, Julian, Marcus, and Nathaniel.
Sophie wore a beautiful blue dress, her silver star bracelet shining brightly on her wrist, her posture tall, proud, and confident beside me.
When the judge called for victim impact statements, twelve-year-old Sophie stood up, walked calmly to the podium, and adjusted the microphone.
Daniel looked at his daughter with a desperate, groveling terror, weeping silent tears.
"Eight months ago," Sophie spoke into the microphone, her clear, young voice echoing cleanly off the high marble walls, "my father told me I was reckless and hit my face because I spilled a drink on his girlfriend's dress. He thought I was small and weak. But my mother and my uncles taught me that true family never hits you... true family protects you."
She looked straight into Daniel’s bloodshot eyes.
"I forgive you, Daniel," Sophie added softly. "But I don't need you anymore. I have a real family now."
The judge slammed his heavy wooden gavel down with a sharp THWACK.
"Sentence declared," the judge announced flatly. "Fifteen years state imprisonment."
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Daniel thrashed in his chains, screaming our names, weeping hysterical pleas as state marshals dragged him down to the dark holding cells below.
Sophie turned to me, a bright, beautiful smile lighting up her face as she wrapped her arms around my waist.
