But she admitted everything else.
The false child-services reports.
The guardianship fraud.
The attempted misuse of Vicky’s estate.
The lies under oath.
The pressure she’d put on a grieving seven-year-old.
Her lawyer expected several years in prison.
The prosecutor asked whether I wanted to submit a victim-impact statement.
I did.
I didn’t ask for mercy.
I didn’t ask for revenge.
I told the truth.
She had tried to steal my sister during the worst months of our lives.
Whatever happened after that was for the court to decide.
Howard, meanwhile, never stopped claiming innocence.
Until eleven days before his trial.
That was when investigators found the final piece.
Remember the folder called Lily House?
It contained more than financial records.
My parents had installed a tiny camera in Dad’s office after Howard began threatening them.
Not because they expected murder.
Because they wanted proof of intimidation.
The camera uploaded short motion-triggered clips to an encrypted cloud account.
