Chapter 16 - The Price of a Choice
The agreement did not ask Daniel to say he was a monster. It asked him to admit that he had committed an assault, comply with supervision, continue counseling and perform community service. His lawyer explained the risks of rejecting it and the limits of the prosecutor's offer.
"I want to hear Claire's opinion," Daniel said.
Claire listened from her rehabilitation bed, her right hand resting against a rolled towel. She was learning to walk again and hated being watched when she stumbled. Some mornings she could tell a full story. On others, she lost a word halfway through and had to close her eyes until the frustration passed.
"Do you think I should take it?" Daniel asked.
"I think you know what you did," she said. "I won't decide what punishment fits. I need you home with Emma when the law allows it. I also need you to stop making anger everybody else's emergency."
Daniel nodded. "I'm working on that."
"Then keep working when nobody's praising you for it."
At a courthouse hearing, Mallory appeared in a sling, her red hair tied back. She was under conditions not to approach Claire or Emma. Daniel kept his distance. For a moment his sister looked at him across the hall with the same wounded expression she'd worn when their mother forgot a school play. Then she turned away.
Moreno stopped beside Daniel. "There may not be a trial," she said. "Her lawyer is discussing a plea."
"Does she admit what she did?"
"She's admitted lifting and throwing the planter. She still says she didn't mean to hurt Emma."
"Emma was in Claire's arms."
"The prosecutor knows. So does the judge."
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Daniel glanced toward his sister. He had spent weeks wishing someone could make her understand the harm she'd done. Now he realized no sentence could force genuine remorse.
When his hearing began, he stood, faced the judge and said the words that would decide his own future: "I accept responsibility."
