The tension in the court room had been rising steadily. This was the trial of Edward Graham facing the involuntary manslaughter charge of his twin daughters Sara and Zara. His wife Kate had already been found guilty of the same charge and was sentenced to 5 years in prison a few weeks prior.
In the months following the deaths, Edward became a symbol of hate for society. A witch hunt by the major newspapers led to widespread defamation of his character. He was portrayed as a selfish and neglectful man who put his own desires ahead of the well being of his family.
He was the subject of taunts and abuse by normal people on the streets, was twice assaulted by zealot child welfare campaigners and was also the recipient of numerous death threats on the internet and through the letterbox. A television special, exposing the lifestyle of the affluent Graham family only added fuel to the fire of hate.
Growing up in humble surroundings, Edward Graham was the only child of an immigrant East German couple growing up in the impoverished East end of London. His father earned barely enough from his job at the textile factory to bring home enough food for 2 meals a day. The language and cultural barriers proved to be a difficult obstacle to overcome for his parents, who had arrived in the country to escape from the repressive communist regime ruling their country at the time. They entered London after hitchhiking through Europe with the hope of putting their previous life behind them and dreams of giving their young child the best opportunity in life.
Edward was enrolled in to a school near their densely populated estate, filled with families that had gone through a similar journey. Despite being naturally intelligent and inquisitive, Edward grew up scraping through his state provided education, before dropping out of school at 15 to join his father at the factory. The constant financial struggle and desperation of making ends meet meant his academic ambitions were put on the backburner.
He loved his parents and knew the sacrifice they had made for him. His mother was a traditional housewife who kept the home clean, ensured hot food was on the table for her husband and son on their return from work and provided the love and stability the men needed for their emotional wellbeing.
His father was tall and built with a red complexion and a thick, blond moustache perched raggedly above his lips. It was the kind of moustache that would regularly get food stuck in it, which would eventually work its way into the thick labyrinth of hair. He also liked his alcohol and had a short temper which was a recipe for many an argument with his wife. Edward regularly encountered these and blamed himself for the family’s position.
Edward’s parent’s also felt enormous guilt for embarking on a migration which took them away from their native culture and homeland, only to end up in a position worse than they had to begin with. Edward’s mother cried herself to sleep every night and his father could barely look at or talk to his son, despite working only a few feet apart in the textile factory.
In subsequent years there was some respite for the family as Edward managed to get a job as an electrician’s apprentice. He worked long hours and was treated badly by his employer, but the wage he earned, along with money he made through side projects, allowed him to save enough to allow his family to move in to a better home.
Their rented new home a bit further out from the squalid inner city thawed relations between the family and they grew as close as they were prior to him dropping out of school. They were a dysfunctional family that dragged themselves along through their early years in the country but now seemed to be on steady footing for a prosperous future
Edward passed his apprenticeship in his early 20’s and began a small business doing local electrical work. Initially his business was restricted to contacts he had made during his training, but as word of mouth spread about the quality, thoroughness and low cost of his service, people all across the region were in demand of him.
As his business grew, Edward knew he would need someone to deal with the administration side of his business and so converted a room in his rented house in to an office. Edward’s mum was the first employee of “Empire Electrics”. She sat by the phone and took bookings for his services. The job helped to drastically improve her English as well as grow her son’s business steadily.
