Chapter 9 - The Sentencing and the Void
The sentencing hearing was a swift, brutal affair.
Judge Vance looked down at Garrett with a cold, unyielding stare.
"Garrett Blackwood, you have shown zero remorse for your actions. You view human beings, including your own wife and unborn children, as mere accessories to your vanity and ambition. You are a coward who hides behind wealth that wasn't even yours."
She adjusted her glasses, reading from the official document.
"For the combined charges, you are hereby sentenced to twenty-five years in a maximum-security state penitentiary, without the possibility of parole for the first fifteen years. You are further ordered to pay full restitution to the investors you defrauded."
Garrett stood frozen. Twenty-five years. He would be an old man when he finally walked out. His youth, his status, his freedom—all gone in the blink of an eye.
"Evelyn!" he suddenly shouted as the bailiffs grabbed his arms. "Evelyn, I'm sorry! I love you! Please!"
It was the most pathetic display I had ever witnessed.
I stood up from my seat. I didn't say a word to him. I simply gave him a look of absolute, profound pity, turned on my heel, and walked out of the courtroom.
Outside, the sun was shining. The press flashed their cameras, shouting questions, but Victor and the security team seamlessly parted the sea of reporters, ushering me into the waiting black SUV.
As the car pulled away from the courthouse, I pulled out my phone and dialed my grandfather.
"It's done," I said, leaning back into the leather seats.
"Good," Harrison replied, his voice strong and proud. "Are you coming to the office? The board of directors is waiting."
May you like
"I'm on my way," I smiled.
The void that Garrett and Eleanor had left in my life wasn't a dark, empty space. It was a clearing. They had been the weeds choking the life out of my garden, and now they had been ripped out by the roots. The soil was finally ready for me to grow.
