For five years, Daniel had insisted he had been wrongly accused, repeating the same words to walls that never answered back. Now, with only hours remaining before the legal process reached its final stage, he had just one request.
« I want to see my daughter, » he said quietly. « Just once. Please let me see Emily before it’s over. »
One guard looked at him with sympathy. Another simply looked away.
The request eventually reached Warden Robert Mitchell, a 60-year-old veteran who had overseen countless difficult cases throughout his career.
Something about Daniel’s file had never sat right with him.
The evidence had appeared overwhelming—his fingerprints on the weapon, blood on his clothing, and a neighbor claiming to have seen him leaving the house that night.
Yet Daniel’s eyes never reflected the man described in the reports.
After a long silence, Mitchell nodded.
