Epilogue, Part Two

Six Months Later

“We the jury find the defendant, Phillip Clark, guilty on all charges.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as the jury foreman read the verdict. The state of Tennessee was seeking the death penalty so Phil’s reign of terror was really over. The moment felt bittersweet, at best. Here was someone I thought I knew, someone that I knew could be and was at one point, a good person. Was the monster within always hiding just below the surface or was the reality of losing me and his mother finally his breaking point and he just snapped? I guess we will never really know.

As Phil stands up and is placed back in handcuffs, he looks up and locks eyes with me and there it is. Just for a brief moment, I see the old Phil. The look of regret and defeat on his face almost makes me feel guilty for being the one person the most responsible for putting him away today. I say almost because within seconds, that old Phil is gone as his eyes turn cold and I feel as if they are staring into my soul