Prologue

In the courtroom, time seemed to slow down.  The minutes seemed to be hours; the hours, days.  Sitting in his wooden chair, Victor Benson counted down the seconds until the verdict would be reached.  He knew what the outcome would be; first degree murder was not a crime easily forgiven, no matter what the reason.

Finally, the jury reentered the courtroom.  Victor closed his eyes, waiting for the word he has been waiting to hear for so long.

The judge began to speak, but the words seemed to blur together in Victor’s nervous haze.  He was focusing on that one word; that one word he was so very desperate to hear.

“Guilty.”