Ella
"On the count of attempted murder, we find the defendant, Adrian Cross, guilty."
The word landed in the courtroom like a physical thing, and I felt Kylian's hand tighten around mine as the foreperson continued through the remaining counts, guilty on fraud, guilty on embezzlement, guilty on conspiracy, each verdict arriving in the same steady, unhurried rhythm until every charge against him had been read.
Adrian sat motionless at the defense table, whatever composure he'd maintained through the entire trial finally, completely gone, his face pale and blank in a way that told me the reality of what came next hadn't fully reached him yet.
I didn't feel triumphant. I felt, mostly, an enormous and unfamiliar quiet settle through my chest, a year and a half of carried tension finally, f
