The next morning, the courthouse was already surrounded before the sun had properly risen over Chicago. Police barricades stretched across the street, patrol vehicles blocked both ends of the road, and armed officers stood near every entrance with their eyes constantly moving through the growing crowd.
Reporters had gathered behind the barriers with cameras raised toward the courthouse steps, while protesters stood in the cold with signs demanding justice for Ethan and Emily Morales. Some called Victor Hale a murderer. Others demanded an investigation into Black Sheep Firm and the powerful people surrounding the Hale family.
The attempted assassination of Judge Damian Hill had turned the case into something much larger than a drunk driving trial. It had become proof, at least in the minds of the public, that someone powerful was desperate to stop the truth from reaching a courtroom.
