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“HE SH.OT ME AT MY OWN MEDAL CEREMONY—THEN STILL CLAIMED I WAS ‘UNSTABLE.’” / Chapter 9 / 10

Chapter 9 - The Verdict of Truth

Arthur saw his narrative disintegrating in real-time.

He lunged up from his chair, the chains rattling furiously against his waist. "He’s faking it!" Arthur screamed, his voice cracking into a shrill, hysterical pitch that echoed off the high courtroom ceiling. "He’s a liar! He was a liar at ten years old, and he’s a liar now! He killed his mother with his disobedience, and now he’s trying to kill me!"

"Marshals!" Judge Carter shouted, standing up from her bench.

Two federal marshals grabbed Arthur by the shoulders and forced him down, but Arthur was thrashing, his face mottled red, spittle flying from his lips.

"You belong to me, Julian!" he roared, glaring directly at where I sat. "You’re nothing! You’re dirt! You’ll always be the little rat in the cellar!"

The facade was gone. The calm, distinguished church elder had vanished, leaving only the rabid, spiteful creature who had terrorized my mother and me behind drawn blinds. The reporters in the gallery were frantically scribbling in their notebooks; the cameras in the hallway would capture the screams.

Henderson, Arthur’s attorney, stepped back from the defense table, his hands raised in surrender, his face pale with utter defeat.

"Bail is denied," Judge Carter said, her voice shaking with controlled fury once Arthur was pinned to the table. "The defendant will be remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service without bond pending trial for attempted murder of a service member, possession of an illegal firearm, and federal weapons charges. Remove him from my courtroom."

As they dragged him backward through the heavy door, Arthur’s boots skated across the polished floor. He kept screaming until the door clicked shut, cutting off his voice mid-syllable.

The courtroom fell silent once more.

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***

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