“I didn’t offer anything!”
“Bribing a police officer is a crime, Miss Belrose.”
Annamaria blinked once. Then twice. And broke.
“It was his idea!” she burst out, jabbing her finger. “Detective Harlow!”
“You mean the glove? Maya’s hair?”
“Yes!”
“And he expected compensation, didn’t he?”
She nodded frantically. “Yes. He said if I went along, he’d make it stick. He wanted a cut. I…I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do, so yes, I paid him.”
The courtroom fractured, with gasps, murmurs, and the sharp shuffle of shoes. Even the Belroses recoiled, as if the walls had caved in.
I leaned back in my seat, the breath I’d been holding finally releasing.
Sothat’swhat Dom had been chasing all morning.
Maya turned around slightly in her chair again, and her eyes found mine.
God, she looked like sunlight breaking through a storm. Shaken and strong at once.
I mouthed,You’re almost there.
And for the first time in that courtroom, the jury wasn’t looking at Maya. They were looking at Harlow. And they didn’t like what they saw.
Dom’s voice rang out like a blade.
“Your Honor, it is clear that Mrs. Lucas was falsely imprisoned four years ago. That alone warrants a mistrial. But beyond that, under the constitutional protection against double jeopardy, the second burglary charge must also be dismissed. She was tried for a crime she did not commit, and now, they are attempting to punish her again.”
The prosecutor shot to his feet, his face flushed. “Your Honor, the defense is twisting this into a corruption trial. This case is about a burglary. The facts stand. Maya Lucas was in that mansion, she possessed the necessary tools, and she bypassed the security system. That is not in dispute!”
Dom stayed stone-still. “He’s right. She was there. She’s never denied that. But she went to the mansion to retrieve what was rightfully hers. What we’ve proven, Your Honor, is that her prior conviction was built on lies. Lies paid for and planted. A conviction that should’ve never stood. And that taint renders any subsequent prosecution unlawful. This isn’t a technicality. This is constitutional. The very definition of double jeopardy.”
The prosecutor tried to shout over him. “This is a circus! He’s making a mockery?—”
Bang.
The judge’s gavel slammed.
“Enough,” he declared.
The courtroom froze.
The judge’s gaze swept the room. Then?—
“Case dismissed. Mrs. Lucas, you’re free to go.”
Maya turned to me, stunned, the disbelief still flickering in her eyes.
And then I was on my feet. I didn’t think. I just moved.
I caught her in my arms like the ground had disappeared beneath us both.
She clung to me, fierce, shaking, and alive.
