Chapter 18 - THE PLEA
Ulric accepted a negotiated criminal resolution before the permanent guardianship trial.
He pleaded guilty to:
A misdemeanor child-endangerment/property-damage offense relating to smashing the glass table near Esmond.
A reduced assault offense relating to swinging the bat at me.
No claim he intended to strike Esmond.
No attempted-murder fantasy.
Sentence recommendation included:
Probation.
Anger-management intervention.
Individual counseling.
Restitution for damaged household property and my documented medical costs.
No contact with Esmond during an initial period, after which any contact depended on family-court orders and professional recommendation.
No jail beyond time already served at booking, given no serious injury, plea, no prior violent conviction, and treatment plan.
Some relatives thought too light.
Others thought too harsh.
I stopped asking.
Then Ulric spoke.
“I scared Esmond.”
Good.
“I was angry because I believed Tavian had betrayed me.”
There.
Then:
“I swung at Rhydian.”
No self-defense story.
Good.
Then:
“I did not want to hurt Esmond.”
Probably true.
Then:
“I still did.”
That mattered most.
The criminal court did not decide guardianship.
Separate.
But the plea became admissible in the family case for relevant purposes.
Ulric knew.
He accepted anyway.
May you like
That was either growth or strategy.
Maybe both.
