Chapter 22 - Amanda’s sentence
The court considered:
No prior convictions.
High value of intended property.
Planning over months.
Forgery.
Abuse of trusted access.
No completed removal.
No buyer losses.
No physical violence beyond already separately handled misdemeanor involving Sophie.
Sentence:
Three years imprisonment, with eighteen months suspended.
Eighteen months to serve.
Two years supervised probation.
Restitution:
Investigative and property-security costs allowed by statute.
No restitution for property never lost.
No millions in imaginary damages.
Then Amanda spoke.
“I was going to replace everything.”
I stared at her.
Not because it mattered legally.
Because it revealed how she still thought.
Replace.
As if my grandmother’s silver was equivalent to money.
As if trust could be reimbursed.
As if Sophie’s fear could be replaced by another wedding.
The judge said:
May you like
“The offense was not borrowing. You created a false authorization to remove property you did not own.”
That was enough.
