### **Chapter 14: The Reckoning**
Harvard Law was built on tradition. Elle Hoods was built on survival.
She had spent weeks unraveling the illusion that justice was an objective force, laying out her arguments piece by piece, daring the institution to face its own contradictions. And now, standing at the podium for the final defense of her project, she saw it—the discomfort rippling through the faculty, the quiet murmurs among students. They weren't just listening. They were *wrestling* with it.
The professor cleared his throat. "Miss Hoods, you claim that the system prioritizes its own survival over fairness. But how do you reconcile that with the fact that legal structures *do* evolve? Reform happens. Laws change."
Elle tilted her head. "Evolution doesn't mean redemption. A machine can adjust itself without ever fixing its fundamental design."
Preston Montgomery III leaned forward, arms crossed. "You're saying the system isn't *capable* of justice?"
Elle turned to him, calm. "I'm saying the system decides *when* justice is allowed. And that means it isn't justice—it's control."
A rustle of shifting seats. A crack in the illusion.
She took a breath. "The law lets us pretend our failures belong to others. We point fingers at 'criminals,' at 'wrongdoers,' at anyone whose sins are *seen*, while ignoring the sins that happen behind doors and bank accounts. But in the eyes of something greater—whether it's morality, God, or truth—betrayal is betrayal. To dishonor your mother and father is no different than to take a life. Yet society decides which sins are worth condemning. And that tells us everything we need to know."
The professor studied her. "You propose a system without punishment?"
Elle shook her head. "I propose a system with *honest accountability*. One where we don't just punish failure—we understand *why* it happens."
Silence.
Then, the professor exhaled. "That would require redefining everything we accept as legal truth."
Elle smirked. "Then maybe legal truth was never truth to begin with."
Harvard had been waiting for her to fail, to stumble, to prove her theories were nothing but philosophy. But she hadn't. She had forced them to see the cracks in their own foundation.
And the fact that they were still debating her meant they weren't ready to ignore it.
Elle Hoods had done what she came here to do.
The real fight was only beginning.