Series: My stepmother spent $1,400 on a designer prom dress for my stepsister Brianna while handing me a heavy, mustard-yellow dress made of stiff upholstery fabric.

The county superior courtroom was packed, a sea of hushed faces. Every seat was taken, reporters jostled for position, and the gallery buzzed with a [more…]

Outside the county courthouse, a phalanx of reporters and photographers swarmed the steps. Flashbulbs popped like miniature explosions, and a cacophony of shouted questions filled [more…]

The following month, the air was crisp, carrying the salty scent of the Pacific Ocean. I stood on a scenic coastal park cliff, the vast [more…]