Chapter 7 - The Trial of the Old Guard
Six months later.
The Chatham County Courthouse was packed for the final sentencing hearing of The State of Georgia v. Victoria Prescott.
The courtroom was silent as Judge Harrison read the final judgment from the bench. Victoria stood at the defense table, wearing an orange correctional jumpsuit, her hands cuffed in front of her. She looked frail, her silver hair completely grey now, her vanity stripped away by six months in a county holding cell.
"Victoria Prescott," Judge Harrison declared, his voice booming through the wooden hall. "You orchestrated a campaign of medical fraud, emotional cruelty, and financial corruption designed to destroy the life of an innocent young woman and deny three helpless infants their rightful heritage. You used your wealth as a weapon."
The judge slammed his gavel down with a sharp crack.
"I sentence you to seven years at the Pulaski State Prison, with no eligibility for early parole for the first four years. Furthermore, a restitution order of three million dollars is levied against your remaining personal estate to be paid directly into the Bennett Children's Educational Trust."
Victoria didn't scream this time. She didn't shout. She simply slumped into her chair, her eyes staring blankly at the floor as the bailiffs stepped forward to escort her through the heavy rear doors.
Grace sat in the front row of the gallery, flanked by Daniel Cross and Judge Mercer.
She did not feel triumph as she watched Victoria being led away. She felt only a deep, quiet sense of closure—the final page of a long, dark chapter being turned forever.
Outside the courthouse steps, a swarm of journalists surrounded Grace, thrusting microphones toward her face.
"Mrs. Bennett!" a reporter shouted. "Now that Victoria Prescott is going to prison and you control sixty percent of Prescott Holdings, what are your plans for the company?"
Grace stepped up to the microphones, adjusting her coat against the cool autumn wind.
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"Prescott Holdings is no longer a monument to one family's arrogance," Grace announced calmly into the cameras. "As of this morning, thirty percent of our corporate real estate portfolio has been transferred into a non-profit foundation dedicated to building affordable housing and providing free maternal medical care for low-income women across Georgia."
The press pool erupted in frantic questions, but Grace simply smiled, turned around, and walked down the steps into the afternoon light, leaving the ruins of the Prescott legacy behind her for good.
