When the final curtain rises, the auditorium erupts in applause. Families spill into the hall.
Noah, Richard, Jessica, and I drift toward the school entrance to wait for the cast.
“She did good,” Noah says.
“She did,” I agree.
“So, Alicia,” Jessica says, linking her arm through Richard’s. He keeps his hands in his pockets, gaze distant, bored. “It’s good you could be here. I know it means the world to Stella.”
I smile politely. Noah’s hand presses at the small of my back—a quiet claim that Jessica clocks immediately.
“Do you have a court date yet?” Jessica asks.
I glance at Richard—he knows. He’s been updated.
“It’s scheduled,” I say. “But we’re hoping for a dismissal.”
“Oh?” she asks, wide-eyed, glancing at Richard as though she’s waiting for him to feed her information.
“The evidence we’ve gathered is strong,” Noah says lightly. “I expect prosecutors will drop the case at Monday’s meeting. If they do, then no need for the judge to dismiss.”
Jessica’s lips tighten—a near-flinch.
“Wow. Did you know this?” she asks Richard, sounding affronted.
“Of course,” he says flatly.
“Well, I never thought you did it,” Jessica adds, aiming it at me like absolution I didn’t ask for.
Noah looks at me for permission.
This isn’t the approach my legal team cautioned against. This is just a name, dropped in a crowd. And I want to see her face.
I nod.
“We’ve located a man named Daniel Frazier,” he says. “Does that name mean anything to you?”
Jessica goes still. Not frozen—that would be too obvious. But still, the way a deer goes still when it first hears the snap of a branch.
“We’ve placed him at the hotel the day of the murder. At Alicia’s home. And he hired a PI to investigate me,” Noah adds.
“We’re still developing the full picture,” I say evenly. “But we expect everything to be tied up by Monday.”
Jessica’s throat bobs. Her fingers tighten on Richard’s arm.
And in that moment, whatever doubt I had evaporates.
She’s involved.
Maybe not alone. Maybe not in the way we first theorized.
But involved—without question.
“Noah!” Stella bursts through the crowd. “You made it!”
She darts past me to high-five him. He hands her the flowers he brought, and I kiss her temple. “You were wonderful.”
“I messed up two lines,” she says. “But Jimmy forgot an entire section!”