Chapter 11 - Seraphine’s defense
Seraphine’s lawyer called the room:
“A supervised retreat space.”
That phrase almost made me throw my phone.
Evelyn stopped me.
The defense argued:
Liora had food.
Water.
Pillow.
Bathroom access.
The room was warm.
No physical restraints.
No injury.
Seraphine periodically checked.
All true.
Then the obvious question:
Why block the door from outside?
Seraphine answered during an interview:
“Because she kept leaving.”
Why was leaving a problem?
“She interrupted confidential conversations.”
Why not use a nanny?
“Liora refused to stay with staff.”
Why not call me?
“You were busy.”
Why not remove her from the party entirely?
“She wanted to be near her father.”
There.
A child wanted Dad.
An adult wanted control.
The chair solved the adult’s problem.
Not the child’s.
The defense also argued that five isolated incidents did not constitute systematic abuse.
The prosecutor responded:
Five deliberate confinements were five deliberate choices.
Both sides were allowed to use accurate language.
May you like
That was how the system worked.
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