The courthouse was packed.
The buzz of whispered speculation echoed beneath the high vaulted ceilings, journalists cramming the back rows, cameras ready, pens poised. It felt less like a courtroom and more like a reckoning.
Emma sat quietly near the front, her spine straight, her eyes fixed on the two men seated at the defense table.
Liam Carter.
Her late husband's younger brother, head bowed, jaw tight, hands clasped like he could somehow still pray his way out of this.
Victor Salazar.
The loan shark. Hardened, dangerous, his dark eyes scanning the courtroom like a predator in a cage.
Emma didn't blink.
The judge entered. "All rise."
Everyone stood. Emma's heart thudded with restrained fury.
"We are here today," the judge began, "to deliberate the charges against Liam Carter and Victor Salazar for fraud, identity deception, and the murder of Daniel Carter. Prosecution, you may proceed."
Sophia stood at the prosecution's table. Calm. Confident. Radiating authority.
"Your Honor, members of the jury," she began, "what we have here is not just a crime of greed, but one of betrayal."
She gestured toward Liam and Salazar.
"Liam Carter impersonated his brother to acquire a massive loan. A loan that led directly to Daniel's death. And Victor Salazar—who claims to be a businessman—acted not in self-defense, but in calculated violence to silence a perceived threat."
She nodded toward the court clerk. The screen behind her lit up with the grainy surveillance footage from Salazar's office.
Onscreen: "Daniel" walking in. Nervous. Shaking.
Sophia pointed at the figure.
"That's not Daniel Carter. That's Liam Carter—wearing a realistic mask created to deceive."
The courtroom gasped.
The shop owner took the stand next, clearly uncomfortable but honest.
"I didn't know it would lead to someone's death," he said, eyes on the floor. "He offered money. I made the mask."
He glanced briefly at Liam. "He wanted to look exactly like his brother. I made it happen."
The jury watched in stunned silence as the truth unfolded.
Liam's attorney stood to object but didn't speak.
Because Liam, hunched in his seat, suddenly stood.
"I have nothing to say," he muttered, voice barely audible. "Nothing to defend."
Gasps rippled through the room again.
The judge turned to Salazar. "Mr. Salazar, do you wish to respond to the charges against you?"
Salazar exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand across his stubbled jaw.
"I didn't know it was Liam," he said. "I thought it was Daniel. He—" he gestured toward Liam with disgust "—came to us pretending to be his brother. Threatened to report us if we didn't forgive the debt."
He turned back to the judge.
"We couldn't risk it. So we shut him up."
Emma's breath left her body in a stunned whisper.
They had killed Daniel thinking he was the threat—when the real threat had already walked away.
The judge's gavel slammed down.
"This court finds both Liam Carter and Victor Salazar guilty of fraud, conspiracy, and murder in the first degree. Sentencing: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole."
The room erupted into murmurs, some shocked, some satisfied.
Emma sat still, as if frozen in the moment, her heart pounding as the weight of justice settled.
Sophia touched her arm gently.
"It's over," she said softly.
Emma nodded, eyes glistening.
"No," she whispered. "It's finally just beginning."