Ch.65: The Verdict

The aftermath wasn't loud. It was strangely, terrifyingly quiet.

The helicopter crash had drawn every emergency vehicle in the district, but the rooftop itself was a silent zone, guarded by Miller's FBI team.

"They're taking him," Silas said, watching as two agents loaded a restrained, hooded Sterling into the back of an unmarked van.

"Good riddance," I whispered.

"Harper," Julian said.

I turned. He was sitting on the edge of the helipad, a medic tending to his leg. He looked exhausted, battered, and more human than I had ever seen him.

"We still have a verdict to hear," he said.

"The Tribunal?" I asked. "I thought Halloway cancelled it."

"He tried," Julian said. "But the vote... the vote never stopped counting."

He held up his tablet.

The screen was glowing green.

**FINAL TALLY:**
**GUILTY: 0.0%**
**INNOCENT: 100%**

"It's unanimous," he said. "The city acquitted us."

"That's not legally binding," I said, ever the lawyer. "Not without a judge to certify it."

"We have a judge," a voice said.

I looked up.

Judge Arthur Halloway—the *real* Judge Halloway—was walking toward us. He was wearing borrowed clothes, and he looked frail, but his eyes were clear.

"I certified the vote," he said, his voice raspy. "From the safe house. I logged into the judicial mainframe using my biometric key. The override my brother used... I revoked it."

He looked at Julian.

"The charges against you are dismissed with prejudice, Mr. Vane. You are a free man."

Julian let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for months. He closed his eyes, his head tipping back against the concrete barrier.

"And Ms. Vance?" Arthur asked, turning to me.

"The charges against her were fabricated," Julian said, opening his eyes. "By Sterling. We have the proof."

"Then she is free as well," Arthur said. He extended a hand. "I'm sorry for what my family did to yours, Harper."

I shook his hand. It felt like shaking hands with a ghost.

"It wasn't your fault," I said.

"But it is my responsibility to fix it," Arthur said. "I'm calling a special session of the Grand Jury. Sterling, my brother, your sister... they will all face justice. Real justice. Not the circus they created."

"Mia," I whispered.

"She's in custody," Miller said, walking up to us. "She's already cutting a deal. Offering up Sterling's offshore accounts in exchange for a reduced sentence."

"Let her," I said. "I don't care about the money. I just want her gone."

I looked out at the city. The sun was fully up now, burning off the smog. The skyline glittered, indifferent to the violence that had just played out on its rooftops.

"It's over," Julian said, standing up. He limped over to me.

"Is it?" I asked. "Sterling is gone, but the system he built... it's still there. The corruption. The inequality."

"We broke the machine, Harper," Julian said. "Now we have to build a new one."

He reached for my hand. I let him take it.

"We?" I asked.

"You and me," he said. "The lawyer and the billionaire. The shark and the... well, the shark."

I smiled. It was weak, tired, but real.

"I'm not a shark anymore," I said. "I think I'm just a person."

"Be a person with me," he said.

A medical drone landed nearby, its rotors humming.

"Mr. Vane," the medic called out. "We need to get you to the hospital. That leg needs surgery."

"Go," I said. "I'll meet you there."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

He squeezed my hand one last time, then let go. He limped toward the drone, Silas flanking him like a shadow.

I watched them go.

I looked down at my wrists. The phantom weight of the shackles was still there. I rubbed the skin, feeling the bruises.

The chains fell off. We were free.