Chapter 9 - The Reckoning They Tried to Bury
The trial lasted nine days.
I testified. Quincy testified behind closed doors with a child advocate. Former nurses and doctors finally told the truth they had been too afraid to speak three years ago.
The recording of Naomi telling Rachel that Lily was “not meant for this world” played in the courtroom. Several jurors cried.
Garrett took a plea deal on the second day. Fifteen years for his role in Lily’s death and the attempt on Violet. In exchange, he testified against his mother.
He looked at me once during his testimony. I stared back until he looked away.
Naomi’s defense collapsed. The jury deliberated for less than four hours.
Guilty on all counts.
She was sentenced to thirty-five years.
When the judge read the sentence, Naomi stood up and started praying loudly about judgment and mercy. The bailiffs had to remove her from the courtroom.
I didn’t feel triumph.
I felt tired.
And I felt something else — like the first breath after being underwater too long.
It was over.
The people who had tried to throw my daughter away were going to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Quincy and Violet would never have to look over their shoulders for them.
That night, after the kids were asleep, I sat on the floor of Violet’s room and cried until I had nothing left.
Then I stood up, washed my face, and went to check on my son.
He was still awake, staring at the ceiling.
“Is it really over?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s really over.”
He was quiet for a minute.
“Can we change our last name?” he asked. “I don’t want to be an Ellison anymore.”
I reached over and brushed his hair back.
“We can be whatever we want to be now,” I said. “All three of us.”
May you like
He nodded and closed his eyes.
For the first time in a long time, he slept through the night without nightmares.
