Chapter 11 - REBECCA’S PLEA
Rebecca pleaded guilty to child assault and child endangerment.
No attempted murder.
No torture charge.
No kidnapping fantasy.
She grabbed a three-year-old.
Slapped her.
Held her hard enough to leave marks.
Participated in a plan to provoke me.
Serious.
Specific.
Her cooperation against Robert mattered at sentencing.
So did her lack of prior record.
So did Lily’s minor physical injuries.
The judge imposed:
Custodial time, partly suspended.
Probation.
Child-safety treatment.
No contact with Lily unless a future court approved and I consented under appropriate safeguards.
Restitution for therapy and medical costs.
No paid family advisory role funded by Reed Industrial.
Her Blackmere agreement disappeared with the deal anyway.
Rebecca addressed the court.
“I told myself one slap would not matter.”
I stared at her.
She continued.
“I thought I could control how scared Lily became.”
Good.
No:
Dad made me.
Then:
“My father pressured me with debt. I still chose to do it.”
That mattered.
Afterward, through counsel, she asked whether she could write Lily a letter.
“No.”
Not yet.
She asked whether she could write me.
“Yes.”
The letter began:
I hurt your daughter because I wanted my father to solve my life.
That was the first honest sentence Rebecca had given me.
I read the rest.
Did not answer.
May you like
Forgiveness was not a legal step.
It could wait forever.
