Chapter 18 - LILY SPEAKSThe final hearing to accept Greg’s plea was closed to protect Lily.
She did not have to testify in open court.
But she wanted to write something.
Her therapist helped. Rachel helped. Denise reviewed it. The judge allowed it as a victim impact statement, read by Rachel.
I sat in the back row beside Sarah and Chloe.
Dr. Pierce was not there. He had already lost his license and entered protective custody after naming three more people involved in the network. I still did not know how to feel about him. Gratitude was too clean a word. Anger was easier.
Greg entered in chains.
He looked thinner.
Not broken.
Just reduced.
Men like Greg mistake control for size. Without it, they shrink.
Rachel stood at the podium with Lily’s paper trembling in her hands.
“My name is Lily Carter,” she read. Her voice cracked, then steadied. “I am six. I like red shoes, pancakes, foxes, and when Aunt Rachel makes funny voices.”
A few people wiped their eyes.
Rachel continued.
“My daddy told me secrets are heavy because good girls carry them. But secrets hurt my foot. Secrets hurt my arm. Secrets hurt my tummy at night. Mommy told me truth lives somewhere safe. I think truth lived in my boot until Dr. Mara cut it out.”
I could not breathe.
Greg stared at the table.
Rachel read the final lines.
“I miss Mommy. I don’t want Daddy to come home. I want him to stop talking inside my head. I want to grow big enough that my memories are smaller than me.”
The judge removed his glasses.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Then the judge accepted Greg’s plea.
Life without parole.
Additional federal charges pending.
Patricia Carter would face her own trial.
When it was done, Greg stood to be taken away.
For the first time, he looked back.
Not at Rachel.
Not at the lawyers.
At me.
His expression said he still blamed the person with the shears.
I held his gaze.
May you like
Then I did what Lily had done.
I did not look away.
