Chapter 20 - Ethan on the Stand
The courtroom fell into an absolute, breathless silence as fourteen-year-old Ethan Vance took the witness stand.
Dressed in a clean white shirt and dark trousers, Ethan adjusted his microphone and looked directly into the jury box.
He testified for four hours without breaking down once, detailing every incident of abuse, starvation, and threat.
When the prosecutor held up the wooden rolling pin recovered from the hallway, Ethan didn't flinch or look away.
"That is the club she used to hit my sister on the night my father saved us," Ethan testified in a clear, firm voice.
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"And she told me if I ever told anyone, she would bury me in the wall next to my mother."
Several jurors wept openly in the box, while Evelyn stared at the wooden table in complete, defeated silence.
