Chapter 6 - The Trial of a Traitor
The family court proceedings six weeks later were a masterclass in swift, absolute justice.
The courtroom was entirely packed with local media representatives, their lenses catching every detail of Garrett’s ruined reputation.
The prosecution didn't rely on emotional speeches; they simply played the synchronized timeline logs onto the large screens hanging beside the judge's bench.
On the left screen was the active log of my eighteen unanswered phone calls, each timestamp flashing in brilliant, clinical white text.
On the right screen was the live keycard log and Wi-Fi activity from the luxury hotel suite, showing exactly when Garrett and Vanessa had cleared the secondary trust transfers.
The judge, a veteran family law magistrate named Evelyn Sterling, didn't look at the defense team for long.
She looked at Garrett, her expression a mix of profound, professional disgust and absolute finality.
"Mr. Vance," Judge Sterling said, her voice cutting through the quiet courtroom like an iron blade.
"You didn't just breach your fiduciary duty to this firm; you abandoned your dying child to facilitate a multi-million-dollar theft with his own aunt."
The court granted a total, unappealable divorce decree that stripped Garrett of every single asset connected to the Vance empire.
The secondary criminal fraud charges resulted in a seven-year sentence at the state correctional facility for both Garrett and Vanessa, their designer clothes permanently replaced by the uniform of the state.
As the bailiffs guided them through the side exit in handcuffs, Garrett turned back to look at me one final time, his eyes filled with a desperate, hollow loneliness.
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But I didn't look back; I was already looking out the window at the quiet, peaceful morning sun.
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