Chapter 19 - The Sealed Verdict
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In August 2026, a thick manila envelope arrived at my corporate office, stamped with the seal of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
It was an official notification regarding Dominic Vale's early parole application.
He had served three years of his eight-year sentence. The board was asking for a statement from the victim of his financial fraud regarding his potential release to a halfway house.
Simone set the document on my desk.
"You have the power to block his parole, Evelyn," Simone advised. "One letter from your legal team about his past threats in the hospital room, and he stays locked up for the full eight years."
I looked at the document for a long moment.
I picked up my pen, signed the waiver acknowledging the notification, and checked the box marked: NO STATEMENT OFFERED.
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Simone looked at me, surprised. "You're not going to object?"
"Dominic Vale doesn't have the power to affect my life anymore, Simone," I said, closing the folder. "Whether he is in a cell or walking the street, he is a stranger to my daughter and a ghost to my business. Blocking his parole would mean giving him five seconds of my thought. He isn't worth five seconds."
