Chapter 12 - The ArrestsThe legal hammer fell with absolute precision on the morning of August 3rd.
The state attorney general’s office upgraded the charges against Helen and Richard Vance to include corporate embezzlement, attempted destruction of public records, human endangerment, and felony child abuse. The evidence found in the secret cellar left no room for a defense strategy.
Nora and Lila stood in the gallery of the courtroom as their parents were brought out in orange jumpsuits for their formal plea entry.
Richard Vance looked broken, his shoulders slumped, his eyes refusing to look toward the front rows where his daughters sat. But Helen remained defiant until the very moment the prosecutor presented the digital records from the hidden hard drive.
"How do you plead to count one: Aggravated Arson with Intent to Defraud?" the judge asked, his voice echoing off the high marble walls.
Richard cleared his throat, his voice barely audible. "Guilty, Your Honor."
Helen looked at Nora, her face twisting into a final, horrific snarl of rage. "You ungrateful little freak! I gave you life! I gave you this house!"
"Silence in the court," the bailiff bellowed.
May you like
Helen was forced back into her seat, her head buried in her hands as her attorney whispered frantically in her ear. She looked up one last time, her voice cracking as she uttered the final, desperate word: "Guilty."
The judge slammed his gavel down, the sharp crack sounding to Nora like the closing of an old, heavy iron door. The past was finally locked away.
