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Six months later.

The air in the federal courthouse in downtown Silver Valley was crisp, smelling faintly of old wood, floor polish, and the cold, institutional weight of justice. I sat in the witness waiting room, dressed in a sharp, tailored navy suit that hid the faint, faded scars along my forearms.

My lips had completely healed, leaving only a tiny, near-invisible silver line near the corner of my mouth—a permanent reminder of the price of my silence.

The door opened, and Liam walked inside, carrying two cups of black coffee. He looked relaxed, his navy-blue scrubs replaced by a professional grey suit, his eyes bright and clear of the exhaustion that used to define his life at Riverside Hospital.

"The defense team just rested their case on the corporate fraud charges," Liam said, handing me a cup. "Ethan’s lawyers tried to argue that the Cypriot wire transfers were executed without his direct knowledge by Marcus Vance and Julianna, but the federal prosecutors brought out the master ledger files we pulled from the foundry briefcase. The signature keys match his biometric tokens exactly. There’s no way out for him, Clara."

"What about the domestic assault charges?" I asked, taking a slow sip of the warm coffee.

"That trial starts next month," Liam said, his face hardening into a look of absolute resolve. "But Detective Miller and Maria from the ER have already been subpoenaed to present the medical photographs and the forensic trauma reports from the night he brought you in. Between the physical evidence and the text messages we recovered from his encrypted home vault, the DA is confident he’s facing the maximum twenty-year sentence for felony assault, to be served consecutively with his federal sentence."

Before I could reply, Special Agent Harris stepped into the room, her expression solemn but victorious. "Mrs. Callahan, Dr. Vance. The jury just returned with the verdict on the federal corruption and money laundering counts."

My heart missed a beat. I stood up, my fingers tightening around the paper coffee cup until the cardboard crumpled. "And?"

"Guilty on all forty-two counts," Agent Harris said, a small, proud smile touching her lips. "The judge has already denied bail pending sentencing. Ethan Callahan is going to spend the next thirty-five years of his life in a federal maximum-security penitentiary. His assets have been permanently seized under the RICO statutes, and Apex Development has been placed into federal receivership."

I let out a long, slow breath that felt like it had been trapped in my lungs for four long years. The invisible cage that Ethan had built around my life had finally, permanently shattered, leaving nothing but the open sky ahead.

"There’s someone who wants to see you before they transport him to the holding facility," Harris added, her eyes cutting toward the heavy double doors at the end of the corridor. "He legally requested a final meeting with his wife under the supervision of the federal marshals. You don't have to go, Clara. You don't owe him a single second of your time."