Chapter 20 - Final Justice
After lunch, while Clara played with the puppy on the grassy lawn overlooking the sea, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a secure text message from Marcus Reyes back at the Marshals office in Washington.
Just got the quarterly BOP transfer report, the message read. Subject Sterling, A. attempted to appeal his placement in maximum security. Appeal denied by the 9th Circuit. He’s permanently assigned to Florence ADMAX. He’s spending twenty-two hours a day in a cell by himself. Case closed, partner.
I read the text twice, felt a final, quiet sense of closure wash over me, and then pressed the delete key. I locked the screen and slid the phone back into my jacket pocket. Arthur Sterling was officially a ghost—a bad memory buried deep inside the federal prison system where he could never hurt another human being again.
"Everything alright, darling?" Clara asked, walking over and brushing a strand of hair from her face, looking at me with maternal warmth.
May you like
"Everything is perfect, Mom," I said, looking out at the endless blue horizon where the sky met the sea. "Just an old colleague saying hello. Nothing important."
I stood up, took her arm, and we walked together along the garden path toward the edge of the cliffs. The fear that had once moved into her house was gone forever, replaced by the strength of a family that refused to be broken. Justice hadn't just been served; freedom had been won, and the future was entirely ours to write.
