Chapter 16 - THE VERDICT
The jury deliberated four days.
Daniel was convicted of:
Involuntary manslaughter.
Felony child endangerment.
Custodial interference.
Forgery.
Attempted trust fraud.
Obstruction.
Evidence tampering.
False filing.
He was acquitted of one higher homicide count based on extreme indifference because jurors were not unanimous that the evidence met that particular mental-state threshold.
He was acquitted of one theft count tied to the trust because no principal transferred.
Mixed.
Accurate.
When the manslaughter verdict came, Daniel closed his eyes.
Margaret sobbed.
I felt nothing for several seconds.
Then my body started shaking.
Rebecca held my elbow.
Outside, cameras waited.
I said one sentence.
“Sofia was six years old, and she deserved emergency care before anyone’s money, marriage, or reputation.”
Then left.
No celebration.
The conviction did not move her coffin.
It did not restore oxygen.
It did not give me Friday back.
That night I slept for eleven hours.
First time since her death.
When I woke, guilt came.
How could I sleep?
Mara Ellis told me:
“Because your body is alive.”
May you like
Grief resents biology sometimes.
I learned.
