Chapter 10 - Justice in the Courtroom
Six months later, the State Supreme Courthouse in Mineola was packed to capacity. The courtroom was stifling, filled with international press, legal observers, and curious spectators who had followed the sensational trial from its inception.
Amanda Sterling sat at the defense table, wearing an ill-fitting navy prison uniform. Her golden hair was dull, pulled back into a severe ponytail, and the arrogant sneer that had defined her face for decades had been hollowed out into a sullen, terrified glower. Her private legal team had burned through millions of dollars, yet every motion to suppress the balcony video had been summarily dismissed.
On the other side of the courtroom, Chloe sat beside me, fully recovered. Her hair had grown back, elegantly styled to cover the faint surgical scar along her hairline. She sat tall, poised, holding her head high with quiet dignity.
The foreperson of the jury, a middle-aged schoolteacher, stood up to read the verdict.
"On the first count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, how do you find the defendant, Amanda Sterling?"
"Guilty," the foreperson read firmly.
"On the second count of Aggravated Assault in the First Degree?"
"Guilty."
"On the third count of Reckless Endangerment with Depraved Indifference to Human Life?"
"Guilty."
Amanda gasped, slumping forward onto the defense table, sobbing hysterically as her attorneys patted her shoulder in futile consolation.
Judge Harrison leaned over his bench, his expression etched in disgust as he adjusted his glasses.
"Amanda Sterling," the judge spoke, his voice booming through the silent courtroom. "Your actions on that terrace were not merely criminal; they displayed a sickening, inhuman disregard for the sanctity of human life. You pushed a young woman off a cliff simply because she inconvenienced your vanity, and then you celebrated with champagne while she bled on the stones beneath your feet. You represent the very worst of unchecked privilege and sociopathic entitlement."
Judge Harrison banged his gavel.
"I sentence you to twenty-five years to life at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, without the possibility of parole until twenty-two years have been served."
Amanda screamed, thrashing as court officers wrenched her to her feet and snapped the heavy irons onto her wrists. She looked across the aisle at Chloe, her eyes wild with terror, searching for any sign of mercy.
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Chloe didn't flinch. She simply looked at Amanda with calm indifference, watching the monster who had tried to break her be dragged through the heavy steel side doors into the shadows of a prison transport van.
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