Chapter 10 - The True Cost of Family
The wooden gavel struck the sounding block with a loud, satisfying crack.
"I am granting Sarah permanent, irrevocable sole custody of her son, Elliot," the judge declared.
"Furthermore, I am sentencing Denise, Kara, and Ray to twenty-five years in federal prison without the possibility of parole."
The courtroom erupted into cheers as the bailiffs dragged my screaming family away.
I let out a massive breath of relief, feeling the crushing weight finally lift off my shoulders.
My son was safe, and the monsters who tried to hurt him were locked away forever.
We walked out of the courthouse and stepped into the bright, warm sunshine.
Elliot smiled brightly, eating a giant ice cream cone as we walked to our new car.
The nightmare was completely over, and our happy ending had finally arrived.
We drove to our beautiful new house, ready to start a peaceful life together.
When I unlocked the front door, I found a small package sitting on the kitchen counter.
It was wrapped in plain brown paper with no return address.
I carefully tore it open and found a single, glossy photograph inside.
It was a picture of Elliot sleeping in his bed, taken from inside his room just last night.
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Written on the back in dark red ink was a chilling sentence.
"They were only working for me."
