Chapter 15 - The Mother's Last Stand
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Two weeks later, the preliminary hearing for The State of Washington v. Eleanor Rhodess commenced at the King County Criminal Courthouse.
Eleanor was brought into the courtroom in chains, wearing an orange correctional jumpsuit. Her hair was graying at the roots, her skin was pale, and the formidable matriarch who had once ruled Seattle’s high society looked like a ghost of her former self.
I sat in the front row of the gallery alongside Arthur Vance and Marcus Kane.
When the prosecutor read the laundry list of charges—grand larceny, wire fraud, identity theft, tax evasion, and witness intimidation—Eleanor’s defense attorney leaned in to whisper to her.
Eleanor suddenly pushed her attorney aside, stood up from the defense table, and turned to face the gallery. Her eyes locked onto me with pure, unbridled insanity.
“She set us up!” Eleanor screamed, her voice echoing violently through the high-ceilinged courtroom. “That ungrateful little viper! I gave her a roof over her head! I gave her my son! And she systematically destroyed my family from the inside out!”
The judge slammed his gavel repeatedly. “Order in the court! Counsel, restrain your client!”
“You will burn in hell, Leah!” Eleanor shrieked as two bailiffs grabbed her arms, pinning her against the table. “You are nothing! Do you hear me? You are an arrogant, worthless orphan!”
I didn't flinch. I didn't raise my voice. I simply sat straight in my chair, looking her dead in the eye, and offered her a serene, pitying smile.
The judge’s face was dark with fury. “Due to the defendant’s outburst and the severe risk of flight, bail is officially denied. The defendant will remain in custody pending trial.”
As the bailiffs dragged the screaming matriarch through the side door toward the holding cells, the courtroom fell into a quiet, heavy hush.
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Marcus Kane turned to me, tapping his pen against his pad. “She’s facing a minimum of twelve years in a state penitentiary, Leah. She will be seventy years old before she ever sees daylight again.”
I adjusted my jacket and stood up. “She chose her own architecture, Marcus. She just didn't realize how heavy the roof would be when it fell.”
