Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Looking at the Ghost
The courtroom was vast, paneled in dark oak and echoing with the murmurs of legal aides. Danielle sat in the front row, Marcus’s hand gripping hers.
When the bailiff brought Silas in, the air in the room seemed to chill. He looked smaller now, stripped of his power, dressed in a standard-issue orange jumpsuit. His eyes scanned the gallery, finally landing on Danielle. He expected to see fear. He expected her to shrink away.
Instead, Danielle stood up as the judge called for victim impact statements. She walked to the podium, her heels clicking decisively against the marble floor.
She did not look at the judge. She looked directly into Silas’s hollow eyes.
"You came into our lives to take our peace," Danielle's voice rang out, clear and unwavering. "You thought that by threatening our lives, you would make us weak. But you misunderstood something fundamental about a mother's love. It is not fragile. It is a weapon."
May you like
Silas blinked, his jaw tightening as he looked away. He couldn't hold her gaze.
"You are going to a cell," Danielle concluded, her posture completely straight. "But my family and I? We are going home. You are nothing but a ghost, Silas. And we are no longer afraid of the dark."
