Chapter 16 - Celeste Faces Immediate Arrest For Complicity And Cover-Ups
In the county superior courtroom, Celeste Vance sat at the defense table looking frail, defeated, and utterly aged.
Her expensive designer clothing had been replaced by a coarse county jail jumpsuit that hung loosely on her frame.
The presiding judge read through the voluminous grand jury indictments detailing her direct involvement in the crimes.
“You actively participated in concealing corporate embezzlement and aided in the harassment of witnesses,” the judge stated.
Celeste’s defense attorney offered no credible counter-arguments, knowing the physical evidence and audio logs were bulletproof.
The prosecutor pushed for the maximum statutory penalty, emphasizing her lack of remorse and repeated attempts to flee.
When the jury returned with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all forty counts, Celeste broke down into quiet, bitter tears.
The judge sentenced her to thirty-five years in federal prison without the possibility of early parole.
As bailiffs escorted her out of the courtroom, she cast one final, hateful glare toward the gallery where I sat observing.
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I met her gaze with calm indifference, watching the final pillar of the Vance family dynasty crumble into dust.
***
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