Chapter 14 - The UnravelingThe psychological blow was absolute.
Brenna dropped the phone receiver, letting it dangle by its metal cord against the concrete wall. She pressed both hands against the glass, her face contorting into an ugly, animalistic mask of rage and grief as she realized that her thirty-year vendetta had not only failed—it had completely destroyed her only son's life.
She began screaming incoherently, pounding her fists against the glass until two corrections officers grabbed her arms, forcing her down to the floor and dragging her kicking and screaming back through the heavy steel door.
I hung up my receiver and stood up, smoothing down my sweater.
"Are you okay, Clara?" my father asked, standing beside me and placing a firm, protective arm around my shoulders.
"I’ve never felt better, Dad," I said honestly. "Let's go home."
As we walked out of the facility into the crisp afternoon sunshine, Arthur Vance met us at the armored SUV with his tablet in hand.
"The District Attorney's office just called," Arthur reported. "Diego Castillo’s attorney has requested an immediate emergency meeting. Diego wants to execute a full confession and plea bargain."
"What are his terms?" my father asked, opening the car door for me.
"He offers to plead guilty to all corporate fraud charges and sign a total, irrevocable waiver of all parental rights to Clara’s child," Arthur said, "in exchange for the prosecutor dropping the Premeditated Attempted Murder charge down to Second-Degree Assault."
I paused, holding the car door, looking out over the city skyline.
"Tell his attorney no," I said flatly.
May you like
Arthur blinked in surprise. "No?"
"Diego didn't offer me mercy when I was freezing on that stone," I said, my voice ringing with cold, absolute authority. "He stays in jail, he goes to trial, and he serves every single day of the maximum sentence."
