Chapter 15
We had even flown in witnesses from Julian’s hometown to testify.
Word travels fast in a small town, this whole scandal would be the talk of the town back in Nowheresville, Kansas, within three days, guaranteed.
But Jessica was naive. She believed that if Ethan wasn’t Julian’s son, the bigamy charge wouldn’t hold up in court. However, she and Julian had a public wedding ceremony, and everyone back home could attest to that fact.
With the additional charge of bigamy, Julian’s sentence was increased to ten years in prison upon appeal – two more years than his original sentence.
Rosemary didn’t pull any stunts this time. Apparently, after her last courtroom meltdown, she spent two weeks in the clink and learned to keep her mouth shut.
I only went after Julian for bigamy, not Jessica.
Outside the courthouse, she asked why I’d let her off the hook.
She was a victim too, in a way.
A review of Julian’s bank statements confirmed my suspicions: Jessica was completely financially dependent on him and his mother, forced to beg for even the smallest amount of
money.
But there was another reason.
I leaned in close to Jessica and whispered, “Because I wanted to thank you. Thank you for bringing Ethan to the amusement park where I worked.”
“Oh, and by the way, I’m the one who broke that little wooden carving Ethan was holding.”
I’ll never forget the look on her face.
Pure rage and regret.
11:25
Too Late to
