Chapter 23 - The Verdict
After just two hours of deliberation, the jury foreman handed the signed verdict slips to bailiff Frank Miller.
Judge Ross scanned the papers carefully before looking up at the packed, dead-silent courtroom gallery.
"On the count of first-degree premeditated murder, how do you find the defendant, Eleanor Vance?" the judge asked clearly.
"We find the defendant guilty, Your Honor," the foreman announced with unyielding certainty.
"Guilty of felony child abuse, guilty of conspiracy, and guilty of wire fraud on all remaining counts," he continued firmly.
A collective wave of relief and quiet applause swept through the spectator benches as David squeezed his sons' shoulders.
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Eleanor stared blankly at the polished wooden table, her body trembling as her life sentence became an inescapable reality.
Marcus Vance was similarly convicted on all federal conspiracy and financial fraud charges during a concurrent federal trial.
