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Chapter 5 - The Final Trial

The courtroom was packed to maximum capacity. I stood at the podium, dressed in a sharp, tailored black suit, looking radiant and completely recovered. Across the room sat Daniel. He looked unrecognizable—haggard, wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hair matted, and his eyes sunken.

His high-priced defense attorneys had abandoned him. He was stuck with a public defender who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.

"Mr. Hayes," the judge announced, her voice booming through the courtroom. "In light of the video evidence, the testimony of your co-conspirator Vanessa Vance, and the recovered financial logs, this court finds you guilty on all counts of grand larceny, attempted corporate fraud, and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault."

Daniel looked up, his eyes locking onto mine. "Claire... please. Tell your father to stop. I did it for us. For our future!"

"Our future?" I spoke clearly into the microphone. "You tried to kill our child for money that didn't even belong to you."

"I have a right to see my daughter!" Daniel yelled, losing his sanity completely. "She carries my name!"

"Actually, she doesn't," I said smoothly. "Her birth certificate reads Victoria Sterling. You have been stripped of all parental rights permanently. You are a stranger to us."

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The judge slammed the gavel. "Daniel Hayes, I sentence you to thirty-five years in a federal maximum-security prison without the possibility of parole."

As the guards dragged him away screaming, Vanessa was brought out next in handcuffs, sentenced to ten years for her role as an accomplice. She looked at me, pleading with her eyes, but I turned my back on both of them.

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