Chapter 17 - The Plea
Daniel pleaded guilty six weeks later.
Not to everything.
Prosecutors dropped one conspiracy count in exchange for testimony against Celeste and Beatrice.
Nora hated the deal.
She understood the deal.
Those were different things.
At sentencing, Daniel asked permission to speak directly to her.
The judge allowed it.
"Nora, I am sorry."
She did not move.
"I know sorry is insulting now."
That was the first accurate thing he had said in court.
"I loved you and still chose against you. I keep trying to explain it by saying I panicked or Mom pushed me or the company felt like my whole life. But I drove the truck. I pressed the gas."
Nora looked at him.
He was crying.
She felt nothing clean enough to name.
Daniel continued, "I want Sophie to know I loved her."
Nora finally spoke.
"She can know you wanted her after you failed to kill her. Both can be true."
The courtroom went silent.
Daniel closed his eyes.
He received twenty-two years.
Celeste went to trial.
She never apologized.
On the stand, she said the share clause had put the company at risk and that "family assets require family protection."
The jury convicted her on attempted murder, conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction.
Beatrice pleaded guilty before her own trial.
Graham Pike received a reduced sentence for cooperation.
Kessler kept his law license only after a disciplinary hearing and a public censure.
Alma refused every interview request.
"I look terrible on television," she said.
"You look the same as in real life."
"Exactly my concern."
Nora laughed.
The criminal cases ended.
The company did not.
Federal cleanup orders arrived.
Pension liabilities were worse than expected.
The easiest option was bankruptcy.
The board wanted Nora to approve it.
Instead, she asked one question.
"If we file, who loses first?"
The answer was not Celeste.
It was workers.
Nora looked at the numbers for a long time.
May you like
Then she made a decision everyone told her was impossible.
