Chapter 21 - THE VERDICT
The jury deliberated a day and a half.
Judith guilty:
Intentional assault and battery causing bodily injury.
Conspiracy with Graham to use physical intimidation.
Coercive conduct tied to attempted collateral consent.
One obstruction-related count for planned false accident narrative.
Not guilty:
A broader attempted extortion count requiring proof of a particular property benefit under statutory language the jury did not find beyond reasonable doubt.
Mixed.
Correct.
She had tried to coerce a signature.
That did not mean every maximal financial crime fit.
Judith closed her eyes.
Arthur cried.
Graham sat behind prosecutors because he had testified.
He looked at floor.
I felt nothing for several seconds.
Then exhaustion.
The judge remanded Judith pending sentencing? Given nonviolent record but felony conviction and protective-order violation, possibly custody. She was taken into custody pending sentencing due risk/seriousness after motion. Let's keep: judge revoked release after finding repeated contact violation and sentencing exposure.
She turned once.
Looked at me.
No apology.
No hatred either.
Just disbelief that system had not converted her intentions into excuses.
Then Graham’s sentencing proceeded a week later.
His cooperation mattered.
His plea.
No prior record.
He did not physically push.
He planned.
The judge imposed:
Six months incarceration.
Additional suspended sentence.
Two years probation.
Behavioral intervention.
Community service.
Financial ethics training tied to future fiduciary roles.
No management role at Northbridge during supervision unless board and probation conditions approved.
More than he wanted.
Less than Judith faced.
He accepted.
At sentencing he said:
“I believed not touching Nora myself made me less responsible.”
Then:
“I was wrong.”
Good.
He looked at me.
“I am sorry.”
I nodded once.
Not forgiveness.
Acknowledgment.
Then he surrendered.
My ex-husband went into custody.
Our divorce was final.
No child waited for him.
No dependent home.
That simplified harm.
Still, his mother would be sentenced later.
Northbridge remained.
Arthur remained.
I remained.
May you like
The staircase case was legally near resolution.
The financial consequences were not.
