Chapter 9 - The Day of Judgment
The family court of Monroe County was small, quiet, and smelling of old paper and wood wax.
It was 10:00 a.m. the following morning.
I sat on the wooden bench on the left side of the room, my hands clasped in my lap. Beside me sat Carla Evans, her thick file of evidence resting on the table.
On the right side of the room sat Joshua and Jane. They didn't have their three attorneys anymore; they were represented by a single, quiet public defender who looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Joshua wore a simple, unpressed suit, his silver watch gone, his head bowed. Jane sat beside him, her face completely bare of makeup, her eyes fixed on the floor.
The judge—a stern, elderly man named Judge Thomas—read through the digital logs and the statements of Dr. Marcus Reed and Dean Hart in silence for twenty minutes.
The only sound in the room was the quiet rustling of papers.
Finally, Judge Thomas closed the file, removed his glasses, and looked down at my brother.
"Mr. Hart," the judge said, his voice carrying a deep, resonant gravity that made the high ceilings of the courtroom feel even higher. "In my thirty years on the bench, I have seen many cases of poverty-driven neglect, of parents struggling with addiction or mental illness who fail to provide for their children. Those cases are tragic. But they are not malicious."
He paused, his eyes narrowing as he leaned forward.
"Your case, however, is a different animal entirely. You are a man of vast resources. You have a beautiful home, a lucrative career, and every advantage of modern technology. Yet, you chose to abandon your seven-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old son in a deadly winter storm so you could gamble. And when your son begged for his life, you manually rejected his calls to protect your own pleasure."
Joshua didn't look up. A soft, shaking sob escaped his chest.
"Your actions are not merely negligent, Mr. Hart," Judge Thomas said, his voice dropping into a razor-thin line of absolute condemnation. "They are monstrous. Under the authority of the state, I am hereby terminating your parental rights for Dean and Hannah Hart, effective immediately."
Jane let out a sharp, choked gasp, her hands covering her face, but the judge ignored her.
"Furthermore," Judge Thomas continued, turning his gaze to me. "Based on the exemplary action of the maternal aunt, Willow Hart, and the thorough, passing home inspection completed by Child Protective Services, I am granting Miss Hart full, permanent legal custody of Dean and Hannah. The state will also freeze Mr. Hart's personal trust accounts to ensure a monthly child support payment of six thousand dollars is delivered to Miss Hart for the care, education, and medical needs of the children."
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The judge struck his gavel down with a sharp, echoing crack.
"This court is adjourned."
