"You lied?"

Sofia’s trembling voice echoed through the courtroom while Ethan continued sobbing uncontrollably on the witness stand. Even though she agreed to help Damian, there was still doubt in her mind. But seeing Ethan admit the crime in person now hit different.

The prosecution’s case had collapsed so violently the atmosphere itself felt unstable. Assistant U.S Attorney Evelyn Pierce stood frozen beside her table while staring at both witnesses like she no longer recognized them.

Everything she built this case around was unraveling in real time. Sofia’s testimony depended on Delaney’s involvement in Elena’s death. Now that isn’t the case, her testimony is useless.

Judge Helena Vance slammed her gavel repeatedly.

"ORDER!"

"THIS COURT WILL HAVE ORDER!"

Federal marshals immediately moved toward Ethan as the man practically collapsed against the witness stand.

"I didn’t mean for her to die..." he cried weakly. "I swear..."

The courtroom cameras flashed nonstop while reporters were practically shaking from excitement. This was no longer a corruption trial, it had become a public execution of the prosecution itself.

Pierce immediately regained herself enough to stand.

"Your Honor," her voice tightened, "the witness is clearly unstable and compromised."

Damian slowly turned toward her.

"Compromised?" His calm tone somehow sounded sharper than shouting.

"You introduced him as credible less than fifteen minutes ago."

Pierce’s expression darkened instantly. Judge Vance’s eyes shifted between both attorneys carefully. Even she looked unsettled now because the issue was no longer simply Ethan’s confession.

The problem was credibility.

The prosecution had publicly vouched for testimony now imploding beneath direct examination and the jury watched all of it happen live.

Damian began walking slowly before the jury once again.

"The government wants you to believe Alderman Delaney orchestrated bribery, intimidation and conspiracy." His eyes swept calmly across them.

"But every major witness tying him directly to criminal conduct is now contaminated."

He pointed calmly toward Ethan.

"A confessed liar."

Then toward Halberg.

"A federal cooperator bargaining for reduced sentencing."

Finally toward Sofia.

"A witness emotionally manipulated by false information."

Silence spread throughout the courtroom again. Pierce stepped forward immediately.

"The financial evidence still remains."

Damian nodded calmly.

"Yes. Financial transfers exist. But politically connected consulting payments are not automatically bribery." He turned toward the jury again.

"If they were, most of Chicago’s real estate ecosystem would collapse overnight."

Several jurors visibly reacted to that because it was true. Chicago politics and real estate money had always existed dangerously close together.

Pierce attempted to recover momentum quickly.

"The consulting firm belonged to Delaney’s brother."

"And?" Damian asked instantly. "The prosecution still cannot prove those funds were criminal rather than political."

Pierce’s jaw tightened because that was the entire issue now. Everything looked suspicious but suspicion alone was not enough for conviction.

Especially after Ethan detonated publicly.

Judge Vance leaned forward slightly.

"Counselor Pierce," her tone sharpened, "does the government possess direct evidence linking Alderman Delaney personally to the tampering of Elena Vargas’ vehicle?"

Silence!!!

Pierce hesitated and that hesitation lasted barely two seconds. But in trial two seconds could kill a case.

"No direct evidence," she admitted carefully.

The courtroom erupted into whispers immediately. Damian’s eyes revealed the faintest pink shimmer again.

The jury softened further unconsciously while Judge Vance removed her glasses slowly while staring down at the prosecution.

"And regarding the alleged bribery arrangement," she continued coldly, "do you possess direct communication from Alderman Delaney explicitly requesting illegal payment in exchange for zoning approval?"

Pierce’s face darkened further.

"No."

That single word felt catastrophic. Delaney lowered his head slightly from relief beside Damian.

Meanwhile Damian looked almost detached from the entire process now, as though the outcome no longer interested him.

Both the witnesses and the judge were on his side.

Only now did Damian’s nonchalant behavior begin to make sense. This man was never cocky. He just never for once felt threatened by federal prosecution!

Not even at the beginning.

Her reverie shattered, noticing Damian suddenly stopped walking. His gaze slowly shifted toward Victor Halberg seated near the prosecution side.

The wealthy developer visibly stiffened.

"Mr. Halberg," Damian spoke calmly.

"You testified earlier that Alderman Delaney accepted bribes from you."

"Yes," Halberg answered cautiously.

Damian nodded.

"And your plea agreement reduces your sentence significantly if your cooperation results in successful convictions?"

Pierce instantly stood.

"Objection. Already established."

"Overruled," Judge Vance answered immediately.

Pierce clenched her jaw while Halberg swallowed hard.

"Yes."

Damian smiled faintly.

"So if Alderman Delaney walks free your deal becomes substantially less valuable."

Buzz!

The courtroom became silent again and Victor Halberg froze completely. Damian slowly tilted his head while a low, almost haunting laughter escaped his lips.

"Interesting incentive structure."

Several jurors exchanged glances instantly and Pierce recognized the damage immediately. Damian was reframing the entire prosecution as self-serving desperation.

And worse it was working. The federal attorney stepped forward quickly.

"The evidence trail still exists."

Damian turned toward her calmly.

"Yes."

Then he slowly raised Ethan’s confession recording from the defense table.

"But now the court also knows your investigation missed multiple criminal actors while attempting to force a political narrative."

Pierce’s face visibly twitched because that line landed brutally. Judge Vance finally leaned back heavily in her chair. The woman looked exhausted now, not because the case was complicated but because Damian had systematically poisoned every pillar supporting it.

The judge glanced toward the jury and noticed several already looked unconvinced while others looked outright irritated with the government.

He slowly approached the center of the courtroom and spoke softly.

"The death of Elena Vargas deserved truth." Damian’s cold eyes swept across the room. "Not assumptions or political theater."

Then finally toward the jury.

"And certainly not a desperate attempt to turn uncertainty into a conviction."

Absolute silence followed. Even reporters stopped writing briefly because everyone could feel it.

The case was over.

Judge Vance remained quiet for nearly twenty seconds before finally speaking.

"This court has serious concerns regarding the integrity of the government’s evidentiary structure."

Pierce immediately stood.

"Your Honor—"

"The court is speaking."

Silence slammed back into the room instantly. Judge Vance continued coldly.

"The obstruction allegations tied to Elena Vargas are hereby dismissed due to lack of credible direct linkage to the defendant."

Boom.

The courtroom exploded and Delaney grabbed the table tightly. Reporters rushed toward the exits already trying to break the news first.

But Judge Vance wasn’t done.

"Regarding the remaining bribery and conspiracy charges..."

She glanced toward the jury briefly.

"...the court finds the prosecution’s witness reliability sufficiently compromised to warrant immediate dismissal with prejudice."

Pierce’s face went pale instantly.

"With prejudice" meant the government could not simply retry the same charges later.

It was over.

Completely over.

Judge Vance slammed her gavel.

"All charges against Alderman Marcus Delaney are dismissed."

The courtroom detonated into chaos as reporters shouted over one another.

Delaney nearly collapsed into his chair from relief while staring at Damian with a mixture of shock, excitement and terror in his eyes. He knew this man was good, he didn’t know he was this incredible.

Outside the courthouse, protesters immediately erupted after news spread through media vans.

"DELANEY ACQUITTED!"

"FEDERAL CASE COLLAPSES!"

"DAMIAN HILL WINS AGAIN!"

Inside the courtroom, Pierce stood motionless while watching Damian calmly gather his gloves. There was no celebration or arrogance in his face, just boredom. That somehow felt worse than mockery.

Delaney suddenly grabbed Damian’s arm tightly.

"You saved my life..."

Damian glanced at him briefly.

"It was nothing. You were simply lucky enough to hire me."

His violet eyes glowed faintly beneath the courtroom lights. Then he turned calmly and began walking toward the courthouse exit.

The moment the doors opened—

Flash!

Flash!

Flash!

Cameras exploded endlessly and reporters surged forward violently behind barricades.

"MR. HILL!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"HOW DID YOU DO IT?"

"DID THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FABRICATE THE CASE?"

"ARE YOU NOW THE BEST DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN CHICAGO?"

Damian paused briefly beneath the rain outside the courthouse steps. His long coat shifted beneath the wind while police struggled to hold reporters back.

For a moment he simply stared at the storm swallowing Chicago’s skyline. After a week of ritual mating with his wives, everything else seemed dull to him.

That was the source of the incredible boredom that plagued his soul now. He finally understood why Rin said he would never be the same again after getting a taste of it.

Damian turned to the media.

’I should say something’

He frowned for a moment, before speaking.

"The law only works when truth matters more than ambition."

Buzz!

The crowd fell strangely silent for half a second. Even the reporters unconsciously stared at him. They weren’t sure why but Damian’s words felt like a proclamation they wanted to follow. Maybe it was his voice or his face, they just couldn’t explain it.

Regardless, that was the image now spreading across Chicago in real time.