Chapter 7: The Verdict
We bypassed the main doors and walked straight through the opulent lobby. The LED board was still glowing: $280,000. Elena didn’t even glance at it.
We pushed through the ballroom doors. The jazz band was playing a slow Sinatra cover. A few oblivious couples were swaying on the dance floor. But as we stepped onto the carpet, a wave of silence spread outward from the entrance like oil on water.
Judith spotted us instantly. Her eyes narrowed into slits of pure venom. She abandoned Table 1, marching across the floor, her emerald gown swishing aggressively.
“If you have dragged yourself back here to grovel, Myra, I suggest you do it in the coatroom,” Judith spat, stopping a few feet away. She finally registered Elena, scoffing. “Ah, the translator has arrived. This is a private, ticketed event. Remove yourselves.”
Elena did not raise her voice. She projected it.
“Mrs. Kesler,” Elena stated, her tone echoing off the walls. “My name is Honorable Judge Elena Novak, retired. I am present on this property because your son committed an act of physical battery against my daughter, forty minutes ago, in front of this entire room.”
The Sinatra singer fumbled his lyrics and the band ground to a halt. Paige, holding her event clipboard, froze in place near the ice sculpture.
Judith’s jaw tightened. “This is a private family dispute. You are making a spectacle.”
Elena stepped forward, entirely invading Judith’s personal space. “Battery is never a family matter, Mrs. Kesler. It is a felony. And having spent eighteen years presiding over cases exactly like this one, I assure you, the state of Ohio agrees with me.”
