Chapter 14 - Season 1 Reveal
Inside the private office, the heavy door slammed shut behind them.
Jude tackled Reggie onto the dark glass coffee table, shattering it into thousands of pieces. Reggie lost his grip on the gun, which slid across the polished hardwood floor under the desk.
Jude pulled Reggie up by his lapels, pinning him violently against the wall, his scarred face inches from Reggie’s bloody nose.
"Who ordered the hit on my sister?" Jude growled, his voice deep and shaking with pure rage.
Reggie coughed blood, laughing hysterically. "You think I did this for money? Your father killed my brother ten years ago, Jude! I built this trap for four years!"
"Who cut the brakes?" Jude demanded, tightening his grip on Reggie’s throat until Reggie’s eyes bulged.
"I did!" Reggie choked out, cornered with no escape left. "I cut the lines! I framed Julian! I transferred the money! And I brought the Morettis into Providence!"
The heavy door was kicked open by five armed Federal Marshals, guns raised.
"Drop him, Mercer! Hands up!"
Jude stared at Reggie for three long seconds. The desire to break Reggie’s neck was burning in his veins.
Then, Jude looked at the doorway. Ellie was standing there, holding Brinley tight. Brinley’s wide eyes were watching him.
Jude slowly released his grip. Reggie collapsed onto the broken glass, gasping for air.
"He confessed," Jude said calmly to the chief marshal. "It’s on the room’s recording system."
Within twenty minutes, the federal courthouse was secured.
Reggie Shaw was led away in heavy leg irons, surrounded by federal agents, facing life sentences for murder, extortion, and treason under federal racketeering laws.
All charges against Jude Mercer were officially dismissed on the spot due to corrupted police evidence and clear proof of framing.
By evening, the rain had stopped.
Jude stood on the grand granite steps outside the courthouse, wearing a clean black suit provided by his legal team. His arm was bandaged under his shirt.
Ellie walked down the steps toward him, holding Brinley’s hand.
The immediate threat was gone. Reggie was ruined. Julian’s name was cleared. And Brinley was safe.
"It’s over," Ellie said softly, a tired but real smile finally appearing on her face. "You got justice for your sister."
Jude looked at Brinley, who offered him a sleepy smile and held up her one-eyed teddy bear.
"You have a home at the estate, Ellie," Jude said quietly. "Both of you. Forever, if you want it."
Ellie looked at him, feeling a deep, profound warmth she hadn't felt in years. "We’d like that, Jude."
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Season 1’s direct conflict was finished. The villain who ruined her life was behind bars. The man she thought was a cold-blooded killer had saved them.
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