Chapter 7 - Absolute Justice
The legal fallout was swift, brutal, and entirely merciless.
I didn't just want Irving, Piper, and Sabrina to go to prison; I wanted to ensure that the Palmer name became a cautionary tale in this city.
With Wyatt recovering in the hospital, I took temporary control of Heartland Freight Systems. I dropped the disguise. I walked into the corporate headquarters wearing a tailored suit that cost more than Irving's cars, flanked by Marcus and a team of corporate lawyers.
I targeted every single business connection the Palmers had. I used Heartland's immense leverage to pull contracts from any logistics company that did business with Irving's real estate firm. Within three weeks, Irving's company was bleeding out.
The trial was a media circus, but the defense had absolutely nothing.
The audio recording of Sabrina torturing Wyatt, combined with the physical evidence in the basement, the medical reports, and Irving's fingerprints on the sledgehammer, made it an open-and-shut case.
Sabrina tried to play the victim, claiming her father manipulated her, but the jury heard the cruel, gleeful tone in her voice on that recording. There was no sympathy for her.
During the sentencing, I sat in the front row, holding Wyatt's shoulder as he sat in his wheelchair.
The judge showed zero leniency. Irving was sentenced to twenty-five years in federal prison for aggravated kidnapping, extortion, and attempted murder. Piper, who had been complicit in covering it up and managing the finances during the ordeal, received ten years.
And Sabrina—the woman who had smiled while crushing my son's bones—was handed a thirty-year sentence.
As the bailiffs led her away, she didn't look at me. She looked at Wyatt, mouthing the word "Sorry."
Wyatt simply turned his head away. She was dead to him.
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We walked out of the courthouse that day into a barrage of camera flashes. The story of the billionaire who posed as a poor truck driver to save his son had leaked to the press, turning our nightmare into a sensational legend.
But I didn't care about the cameras. I only cared about the man rolling beside me, who was already talking about getting back to the physical therapy gym.
