Dereck's Pov:

Vin walked to the front of the court room and glared at his father. Peter just smirked and rolled his eyes.

Vin looked at the jury and the few people that were allowed inside to here the sentencing.

He looked calm but I could see the emotions boiling just under the surface. I wanted to go up there and hold him but I couldn't. So I mouthed 'I love you' to him and he sent me a small barely there smile but it was enough to know that he'd get through this and he knew I was supporting him even if it was from fifteen feet away.

"In the last year I've seen Peter beat my sister until she was unconscious and to the point that she could barely move much less walk. I've had him come to my house and assault me and my boyfriend. But more importantly I found out he'd been physically and mentally abusing my mom for about as long as I've been alive. That woman lived through hell and as her medical records showed she had many battle scares to prove it. He broke her spirit and body long before he actually killed her. She was just getting her life back and of course he had to take that from her too. He robbed us of a warm, loving, happy and accepting mother. My sister Samantha still screams in her sleep from flashbacks of when she found our mother's bashed in body. I... I lost my mom in a heinous and brutal way. She suffered for almost an hour before she found peace. What more is there to say then that?

I was asked to make an impact statement to help you determine whether he gets the needle or not. I'm asking you to not give him the death penalty. Let me be clear, this isn't in any part out of concern for that man. I just think that it's an easy out for him and he doesn't deserve that. He deserves to live a long life where he can sit in his little cell day in and day out and think about what he's done. Remember the woman he beat the life out of and know he'll never enjoy a moment of the rest of his life. Even if that's 60 years from now.

I thought about making a comment about making him live off of only bread and water and no plumbing in his cell or even him being ass raped roughly by a big rough 'woman beater' hater but I've decided to rise above that and ask you all to make that piece of trash live a long life so he can contemplate his grievous crimes against my mom."

He came and sat down and Ariel got up and walked to the front. She cleared her throat delicately and began.

"My name is Ariel and I'm Samantha's girlfriend. Vincent spoke a bit about how... for lack of a better word.. traumatized Samantha is. She couldn't bring herself to be here today and asked if I could read what she wrote. So here it is.

I was always a daddy's girl. When we were kids I never understood how Vincent and my dad butted heads so often. Or why my mom was so clumsy and always seemed to be quieter when dad was home.

The night he beat me I hated her because she just sat there with a blank expression. For months I was so angry at her because she did nothing to stop him. My little brother had to physically pull my dad, who until that time was my hero, off of me. Even then my father fought to get back to hitting me.

I was on the ground broken, bleeding and unmoving but he just kept on. I think back on that day and believe that if Vincent hadn't intervened I'd be dead. More importantly I wonder why I didn't realize sooner what was happening. I went through it one time but my mom had to suffer through that over and over and over for years.

He fooled us all into believing he was a good guy and I know that if you ever give him a chance at parole or early release he'll fool the parole board too. Then be back on the streets to ruin another family.

My mom was just begining to live her life for her. She'd only had a few months to enjoy her freedom and grow closer to us. I cherish those months because it was like until then we never knew the real her. But he took her away from us and he took her chance at a happy and fulfilling life away from her. She'll never get to go to our college graduations or our weddings or see her grand children. Our mother will never get to see what we'll become or the amazing things we'll do. She'll never get to meet a man and fall in love with someone that'll treat her like she was beautiful and amazing and cherish her just because she's her. She'll miss out on all the great things she would have done.

I found her and I can't describe the image even though it'll be seared into my brain until the day I die. My mom was so beaten and bloody I didn't even recognize her. My first thought was someone broke in and she shot them. But no, he did all that damage to her with his own fists. I wake up screaming because those images haunt me every night.

I know my brother wants him to suffer through a long life behind bars but for that to be the case that monster has to actually have a conscience and feelings. He doesn't. So I'm pleading for you to give him the harshest punishment. An unremosreful monster like him doesn't deserve to live when he so callously and brutally murdered my mom."

She walked over and in a very Ariel like gesture discreetly slid her finger across her throat in a clear gesture to Peter. She sat down beside me and held my hand.

It took less then an hour for the sentencing to be announced. Peter received death by lethal injection.

We walked out and Ariel bounced away to call Sams. Vin and I walked out and were bombarded by reporters. All asking questions at once.

Vin raised his hand and spoke. "Yes my sister and I are thrilled by the verdict and subsequent ruling. In the end Peter got what he deserved. Even if he uses all his appeals he's looking at a ten year time line and that's behind bars. I was reluctant to plead for the death penalty because I thought he should spend the many long lonely years of his life contemplating what he did. But my sister was right, he had no remorse and it wouldn't matter how many years he sat there. In the end justice was served and my mother can rest in peace knowing the judicial system did right by her. If you'll excuse me we have somewhere we need to be."

We started trying to walk away but the reporters rushed to the left of us where two correction officer's and his defense attorney were leading Peter out of the court house.

Peter looked at Vin and smirked. "Yeah actually I would like to say something. I don't regret anything. She deserved it all. She made our daughter a dyke and my son a f*ckin fag. They're the reason she's dead. She had one job, to raise them to uphold the Ford standards but no that stupid b*tch couldn't even do that. She raised them to be queer. I'd do it again." He looked at us again and smirked.

"My only problem is I didn't get to finish my children off first. At least I get to spend the rest of my days enjoying the mental replay of what I did to her!" He taunted.

Vin lept the three feet that separated them and slammed his fist into his face. "Say something again you piece of shit!" He yelled as he slammed his fist into Peter's face again.

It all happened so quickly it was kind of a blur. It took a second for the correctional officers to register what was happening, or maybe they thought he deserved it. Who knows.

Vin got in half a dozen solid hits before I could pull him away. Peter's face was bruised, swelling and bleeding but he still managed a cocky smirk. "That's right Dereck hold on to my little faggot son, wouldn't want him to break a nail"

Vin struggled within my grasp but I kept a solid hold on him.

"You're just as useless as that b*tch was!" Peter taunted. Vin broke free but I grabbed him by his collar and yanked him back.

"Good to see you're just like papa. Violent to the end." Peter cooed.

"I'm nothing like you!" Vin yelled. "I've never hit a woman or anyone weaker then me and I'll never hit my children!" He screamed.

Peter laughed. "tsk tsk. You just beat a restrained man. Like father like son. I guess the rainbow bright apple didn't fall that far from the tainted tree huh?" He taunted.

Vin laughed and shrugged me off of him. "Well I figure you murdering my mother in cold blood negates the wrist shackles. Have fun in prison and I hope you spend however long you have left enduring the shit you put mom through." Vin started to turn around.

"You know she begged, pleaded for her life. Every time I punched her harder she'd just scream and beg me to think about our children. As I wiped my hands off on her dress. I told her you and Samantha were next. She screamed like the b*tch she was until she just begged in a broken whisper for your lives. Ah that was a good day. That will be what I dream of every night until my end comes. Watching her eyes glass over and-"

Vin tackled him and slammed his fist into his mouth over and over. Both correctional guards tried pulling him off. The media who had been silent during the whole exchange went nuts. Vin just kept on. The correctional officers yelled at him to stop and step away from the prisoner. They got their tazers out and aimed.

"Wait!" I yelled at them. I jumped between them and Vin and yelled.

"Vin enough babe!" I yelled but he didn't respond. The correction officer's were inching closer to Vin and trying to angle around me to get a clear shot. I lunged at Vin and caught his fist mid swing. "ENOUGH IT'S OVER! VIN! VINCENT JAMES FORD YOU BETTER BACK THE HELL UP OR I SWEAR I'M GONNA LET THE LAW MEN TASER YOUR ASS!"

He jerked his head up and looked around and then at me, then the gaggle of reporters surrounding us, then back to me. He nodded his head slowly and I helped him up. I ran my hand over his cheek and cleared his tears away.

"It's over babe. Relax, breath." I ordered softly.

He took a deep breath and looked at his dad as the officers helped him up. He spit in Peter's face. "That was me being like you."

The DA came running down the steps of the courthouse and yelled, "What the hell were you thinking?" He glared at Vin. "Inside now!"

He dragged us to an empty room and closed the door. "Were you trying to get a connecting cell with daddy dearest? Stay here I need to go figure out this situation and try to do some damage control." He growled then stormed out.

Twenty minutes later he came in and dropped down into a chair across from us and loosened his tie.

"You're stupid, that's exactly what he was trying to do. Do you know how much trouble you could be in? You assaulted a restrained prisoner. You broke his bloody jaw!"

Vin smiled but I elbowed him and he dropped it. "I was just helping him shut that big mouth of his. Not my fault your officers are under-trained and let me get that close to him." He said with a shrug.

I groaned. "What he meant to say was it's been a very emotional couple of months and after everything that he went through he just snapped. In fact I'm sure we can find a reputable psychiatrist that'll agree he wasn't in his right state of mind when he attacked. Now that he's of sound body and mind he feels incredibly guilty." I said giving Vin a look, he rolled his eyes but nodded his head.

The DA drummed his fingers. "I'm sure that's the case which is totally understandable considering everything Peter said. However I can't guarantee assault charges wont be filed. If the media pushes it or even Peter's attorney, you'll be arrested and have to fight the case in court."

I nodded and pulled Vin up. "In the mean time I'm taking Vin home to clean his hand up and decompress. We're going on vacation in two days for spring break and we'll be back after a week. If you're office still wants to press charges then we'll come in. No need to send out johnny law dog to cuff and parade him through town."

He nodded and stood up with us and walked us to the office door. I stopped and faced him.

"However, you might want to consider this... If you did choose to follow through with assault charges that would probably be career suicide. And before you ask no that is not meant as any type of threat. It's just a fact. We come from very powerful families and are now the heads of said families. We have the wealth, and connections to fight it and win, not that it'd be that hard all things considered. But we're also tied to several other very powerful and politically affiliated families that won't be as forgiving as we are. He snapped and made a mistake end of story. Considering everything that happened it's reasonable to trump this us as a.... well all the reporters clearly got the evidence of his temporary mental lapse. I'll have a hundred highly qualified shrinks in here arguing that he wasn't mentally stable during that incident and a team of attorneys that'll eat you and your fellow team members alive and make y'all look completely incompetent and cold hearted to Vin's traumatic experience. I'll cost the state an obscene amount of money because I'll drag the trial out and then I'll sue the city and anyone involved with trying this case for defamation of character, wrongful imprisonment, slander, mental anguish and any other thing my thirty man lawyer team can come up with. Again not a threat just a simple statement of fact. Now I'm gonna take Vin home to rest and please do not hesitate to call should you need us for anything. Thank you and have a pleasant evening District Attorney Rowley."

I dragged a stunned Vin out of the office and down the side entrance to our car. Ariel was waiting there so we could avoid the media circus out front.

"That was so f*ckin hot!" Vin moaned when we got out side.

I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth. "No that was essentially black mail and I'm a bit pissed off at you at the moment. I swear if you get arrested I'm gonna kick your ass!"

We jumped into my car and Ariel peeled out. "Vinny you are my hero! Oh and Sammy said to high five you. She saw the whole thing live on the news and she laughed Vinny. For the first time since all this went down my baby laughed."

I sighed and leaned back. "Well I had to blackmail an officer of the court to keep my baby out of jail and I'm not even sure it'll work. He broke Peter's jaw. The hospital is wiring it shut as we speak."

Ariel giggled. "Good that bastard deserves way worse." She looked at Vin and then me and sighed.

"Don't worry honey, we're not gonna let Vin get sent to the big house. Besides worst case scenario they give him a plea deal and he has to do community service, or they straight up try him and lose because no jury in their right mind will convict him plus you two money bags can afford a kick ass law team. But I really don't see them arresting him, or they would have done it then and there."

Vin leaned forward. "You should have seen how hot he was in there. He got all high and mighty and basically told the DA you arrest the love of my life and I'm make you my bitch! I swear I popped a tent in my pants!"

I rolled my eyes. "No I just pointed out some facts that would be in his best interest to consider. Now shut up about it cause I had to be a prick and I don't like being a prick so you're in the dog house."

He kissed my cheek and nibbled my ear. "I did lose it but you brought me back from that dark place. Thank you Dereck. I love you so much baby." He whispered.