Chapter 17 - Protective Order Granted
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The following Tuesday, we stood in the Madrid Family Court for our first preliminary hearing.
Rafael sat across the courtroom at the defense table alongside his mother, Mariana. Both of them looked stripped of their former grandeur. Mariana no longer wore her designer silk dresses; she wore a simple gray coat, her eyes fixed on the floor, avoiding the gaze of reporters sitting in the back gallery.
The judge, a stern woman in her late fifties, reviewed the evidence presented by Lucía.
"The security footage from the establishment is clear and unambiguous," the judge declared, her voice echoing in the courtroom. "The defendant, Rafael Delgado, exhibited unprovoked physical violence and intimidation against the petitioner, Elena Morales."
The judge slammed her gavel down with a loud THUD.
"I am granting a permanent protection order," the judge ruled. "Mr. Delgado is ordered to remain at least five hundred meters away from Ms. Morales, her residence, and her place of employment at all times. Any violation will result in immediate imprisonment."
Rafael slumped in his chair, staring at the desk in complete defeat.
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Beside him, Mariana buried her face in her hands, weeping quietly as the court reporters typed furiously on their laptops.
As I walked out of the courtroom, I didn't feel vengeance. I felt a deep, profound sense of peace.
