Chapter 17 - ECHOES IN THE DARKMonths after the trial concluded, the federal penitentiary in West Virginia felt colder than ever. Margaret Prescott sat alone in her cell, the concrete walls closing in around her.
Her money was gone. Her societal status was erased. Her sons were locked away in distant maximum-security blocks, unreachable and broken.
The guard walked past her cell, tossing a small envelope onto her metal bunk. "Mail call, Prescott."
Margaret slowly picked up the envelope. There was no return address. With trembling fingers, she tore it open and pulled out a single photograph.
It was a picture of Emily Hart, smiling brightly, standing alongside her mother—Brigadier General Victoria Hart—at the newly expanded Charlotte Survivors' Advocacy Center ribbon-cutting ceremony. On the back of the photo, written in bold, clean handwriting, were four simple words:
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“Justice always prevails, Margaret.”
Margaret dropped the photograph to the concrete floor, burying her face in her hands as the crushing weight of her absolute defeat finally consumed her.
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