Chapter 9 - The Courtroom Verdict
The family court building was a gray, imposing structure, but when I walked through the doors on Tuesday morning, I didn't feel small. I wore a sharp, tailored emerald suit, my posture straight, holding Arthur’s arm.
Richard sat at the defense table. His suit was wrinkled, his hair uncombed, and he sat alone—his mother and Brooke nowhere to be found.
The judge, a strict, elderly woman named Judge Alvarez, didn't waste time. She reviewed the security footage on her screen, her expression turning harder with every passing minute of the tape.
"Mr. Whitman," Judge Alvarez said, her voice cutting through the silent courtroom. "In my twenty-five years on the bench, I have rarely seen such a casual, malicious display of emotional cruelty toward a child by a biological parent. The fact that you allowed third parties to degrade and abuse your own son under his own roof is abhorrent."
"Your Honor, it was an isolated incident—" Richard started, rising from his chair.
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"Sit down, Mr. Whitman," the judge snapped. "The court hereby grants the petitioner, Amanda Vega, sole legal and physical custody of Ethan. Your visitation rights are completely denied until the child reaches the age of majority, at which point he may choose whether or not to acknowledge your existence. Furthermore, the financial audit reports have been forwarded to the criminal prosecutor’s office for immediate indictment on grand larceny."
Richard sank back into his chair, his face buried in his hands as the reality of his ruin finally settled over him.
