Page 140 of Silent Vendetta (Vendetta Duet)

“They find it curious that the father of the teenage boy who was killed—the one that murdered your father—committed suicide on the same day that Alexander attacked Luna. But all the evidence supports suicide, so they have nothing.”

I felt so bad for the father of that kid, that he endured so much tragedy, that he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’ll let you know if anything else comes up, but even if it does, you have the full weight of our firm behind you.”

Elizabeth securing the Lockwoods was a career high for her, and her firm was already getting more clients because of the accolades. Which meant the Lockwood family was in exceptional hands.

It should have made me feel happy.

And it did. In part. But I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain, too.

While we’d told the police Alexander had been behind it all—the hit-and-run, the death of Hunter’s dad, the conviction, and subsequent murder of my father—when it came to the Vigilante stuff, we were guilty of lying to law enforcement. We had obstructed justice; we had altered a crime scene, among other offenses. We were guilty, yet we had an army of high-powered criminal attorneys behind us.

While innocent people remained in prison. It wasn’t right.

And doing my part to prevent it from happening no longer felt like enough.

“I want to start a chapter of the Innocence Project,” I declared.

Hunter and Elizabeth looked at me.

“I’ll figure out how to finance it,” I said. I knew Hunter would offer to provide the money, but I didn’t want all of my happiness to come from him.

I wanted to build this on my own from the ground up. Starting with securing the money.

“Elizabeth,” I said, “what would your firm think about earmarking a percentage of their profits for pro bono work? To fund a chapter of an Innocence Project, led by me?”

She tilted her head, her eyebrows knitting together thoughtfully. “I do believe they’d consider it. But I need to be honest; it’s not solely out of altruism. There’s been chatter within the firm about our public image. When a firm becomes as sizeable as ours, there’s always the risk of being seen as just another bunch of high-flying lawyers only interested in their next big paycheck. The partners expressed interest in countering that public perception.”

“I don’t carewhythey do it, so long as they would be willing to commit to funding.” I would be the heart of the project. I would make sure the people we defended got the very best they deserved.

“I’ll talk to my boss tonight.” Elizabeth smiled.

“Thank you,” I said.

Elizabeth nodded to me, to Hunter. “I’m sorry again for your loss.”

And then she wandered toward the parking lot, high heels sinking into the grass as she passed Barry Mansfield, who approached us next.

He shook Hunter’s hand. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Hunter said. “For everything you did.”

Barry scratched his chin. “Wish I’d been the one to identify your uncle’s role in all this.” He put his hands in his pockets. “Not to mention the kid’s dad. I’m sorry I didn’t solve this faster.”

“You did more than all the police and PIs combined,” Hunter assured.

Barry’s mouth curled up, but the disappointment weighed his shoulders down that he hadn’t officially been the one to solve this case. Still. He had to take solace in having played the most instrumental role in it.

He offered me a nod. “Glad you’re okay, Luna.”

“Thanks, Barry. Any chance you’d be willing to help me with some Innocence Project work?”

He grinned wider. “I’m afraid I already have my next client lined up.”

Probably more like a hundred.

“Well. If you ever change your mind,” I said. “Thank you for everything you did.”

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