Chapter 16 - THE CHAIN CASE
Margaret’s child-endangerment case moved slowly.
Lily’s forensic interview was age-appropriate.
No courtroom spectacle.
She said:
Grandma told me I wasn’t family.
Grandma told me to stay outside.
I tried to come in because I needed the bathroom.
Grandma took me back outside.
Grandma put the chain around me.
I asked if I could have food.
Grandma said party food was for real grandchildren.
That sentence destroyed whatever remaining ambiguity existed.
Margaret’s lawyer argued the chain was loose and Lily could move several feet.
Physical freedom measured in feet.
The prosecutor did not find that persuasive.
Margaret eventually faced charges appropriate to unlawful restraint and child endangerment under the jurisdiction, plus related consequences.
No kidnapping charge inflated for drama.
My slap remained separate.
I entered a diversion disposition.
Counseling.
Community service.
No conviction upon successful completion.
I accepted.
May you like
Margaret called that proof we were “equally violent.”
The judge did not.
