Emily did not look away.

She held his gaze, her back straight and her chin up.

Ethan looked down first, his shoulders slumping as the marshal nudged him toward his seat.

The bailiff called the court to order.

“All rise,” he said.

Judge Marcus Vance entered the room and took his seat on the bench.

He was a man with gray hair and a stern expression.

He looked down at the defendants with no warmth.

“We are here for the entry of pleas in the case of the United States versus Margaret Prescott, Ethan Prescott, and Brandon Prescott,” the judge said.

The federal prosecutor stood up.

He read the charges.

He spoke of the offshore bank accounts.

He spoke of the systematic bribery of local officials.

He spoke of the physical abuse of Emily Hart.

The words filled the silent courtroom, heavy and undeniable.

“How do the defendants plead?” the judge asked.

Margaret’s attorney stood first.

“My client wishes to enter a plea of guilty to counts one through four, Your Honor,” the attorney said.

A murmur ran through the gallery.

Margaret Prescott had broken.