Chapter 17 - Millicent’s case
Millicent faced more complicated allegations.
Child assault/endangerment related to the shove.
Intentional property damage to the toys.
Falsification or forgery-related conduct involving the copied parental signature.
Prosecutors also reviewed custodial-interference theories.
They did not charge the most sensational version.
Why?
At the time I reached the park, Millicent was an authorized temporary caregiver.
She had not yet driven Silas out of state.
She had not refused a direct order to return him after her caregiving period ended.
Her plan mattered.
The completed acts mattered more cleanly.
The false document.
The physical shove.
The destructive punishment.
No kidnapping charge.
No decades in prison.
Millicent’s lawyer negotiated.
She pleaded to a felony-level falsification/forgery-related offense involving the parental-consent document and a misdemeanor child-endangerment offense.
No prior record.
Sixty-five.
She admitted the relevant facts.
Sentence:
Short period of home confinement rather than prison.
Probation.
Required behavioral intervention.
No unsupervised contact with Silas during supervision unless approved through a therapeutic plan and by me.
Restitution for damaged toys.
A no-use condition regarding my signature or legal authority.
North Ridge had already returned her deposit.
She paid fines and legal fees.
No ruin.
Specific consequence.
May you like
Her elegant social life survived.
Her assumption of authority did not.
