Chapter 12 - The Iron Gavel
The federal courtroom was blindingly sterile, smelling of old paper, floor wax, and inescapable judgment. Seated at the defense table, Derek looked small, his shoulders slumped inside a wrinkled suit that no longer fit his hollowed frame. Judge Harrison did not bother to hide her disdain as she reviewed the dense portfolio of corporate fraud and embezzlement compiled by Sarah Holloway and handed over to the district attorney.
"Mr. Vance," Judge Harrison’s voice cut through the silent room like cold steel. "You systematically abused your position of trust, misappropriated funds for personal deception, and treated corporate ethics as a personal slush fund. Greed is a choice, but accountability is an absolute."
Without hesitation, she delivered the sentence: five years in a federal penitentiary with no possibility of early parole, alongside total restitution of every stolen dollar. The sharp rap of her gavel signaled the absolute, irreversible end of his corporate empire.
