Chapter 18 - THE TRIAL OF SAINT LEOPOLD
Three months later.
The fallout from the Saint Leopold Memorial Hospital scandal sent shockwaves through the global medical community and corporate finance circles.
The story hit front pages across the globe: THE MAN WHO WOKE IN HIS CASKET: INSIDE THE THREE-HUNDRED-MILLION-DOLLAR PHARMACEUTICAL CONSPIRACY.
At the Dirkson Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago, the trial of The United States v. Marcus Vance, et al. reached its final day.
Nathan sat in the front row of the gallery, his arm wrapped around Clara, who held his hand tightly. Four-year-old Ellie sat quietly beside her mother, swinging her little legs on the bench, completely oblivious to the historical magnitude of the room, playing happily with a toy wooden rabbit.
On the defense side of the room sat Dr. Marcus Vance, dressed in a orange jumpsuit, his high-priced defense attorneys sitting silently beside him. Behind him sat Julian Cross, who had pleaded guilty to accessory charges and was awaiting sentencing. Julian kept his head bowed, unable to make eye contact with his brother.
The federal judge cleared his throat, adjusting his reading glasses as he read the jury's unanimous verdict across sixty-four criminal counts.
"On the count of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit medical fraud, human trafficking, and corporate racketeering... we find the defendant, Marcus Vance, GUILTY on all counts."
A quiet gasp of relief swept through the gallery.
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Vance stood unmoving, his jaw clenching as the judge sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. As federal marshals led Vance away in chains, he turned his head once, catching Nathan’s eye.
Nathan didn't look at him with anger or hatred. He simply looked at him with the quiet, unshakeable dignity of a man who had survived the dark and stepped back into the light.
