Chapter 20 - THE LEGAL RESULTPatricia eventually entered a negotiated plea.
The exact charge was less cinematic than headlines would have made it.
Misdemeanor assault related to striking me.
A child-endangerment/reckless-conduct count connected to Lily’s fall.
No attempted murder.
No felony kidnapping.
No giant sentence.
She had no criminal record.
She was sixty-four.
She complied with release conditions.
The court imposed probation, community service, mandatory behavioral-health treatment, anger-management work, and no contact with Lily except as authorized through future family agreement or court order.
A suspended jail component hung over violations.
Her attorney called it harsh.
Mine called it proportional.
I called it finished.
The criminal case could punish conduct.
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It could not decide whether Patricia became safe enough to know my daughter.
That decision remained ours.
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