The judge stared at her evenly. “Watch what you say, Miss DiLaurentis. Everything that comes out of your mouth can and will be used against you—in your trial.”
Ali’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but a man in a pin-striped suit who’d joined her at the bench, presumably her lawyer, placed a hand on her arm to silence her. Ali wilted, letting out a small, weak whimper.
Hanna felt a triumphant flurry in her chest. In every situation, Ali had gotten the better of them. Until now. It was the best feeling in the world. The judge then turned to them and gave the news that Hanna thought she’d never hear: All four of them were cleared of their murder charges, since the victim was still alive. “Not just alive, either, but she faked her own death and has been on the lam, evaded the law, tried to escape, and threatened Miss Fields here with a gun,” the judge added, glancing in Emily’s direction.
Hanna gawked at Emily. “She tried to shoot you?”
Emily shrugged. “Her mom did, too.”
Spencer’s mouth dropped open. So did Hanna’s. She was too dumbstruck to ask questions.
The judge cleared his throat. “Now, there are some charges we will need to clear up with you girls. Miss Fields, you put a lot of people through a lot of strife, thinking you were dead. Not to mention you deliberately broke your court-ordered mandate to stay in the state of Pennsylvania and took off for Florida. But I suppose we’ll let those charges rest, considering the ordeal you’ve been through.”
Emily let out a huge sigh. “Thank you,” she gushed. Hanna squeezed her hand.
“And Miss Montgomery.” The judge flipped a page on his desk. “You fled the country, which is a bigger offense. But I think we can negotiate community service in lieu of prison time.”
Aria’s eyes brightened and she clapped a gleeful hand over her mouth.
The judge flipped more pages. “As for everything else with you girls, you’ve been cleared. You’re free to go.”
Spencer looked down at her prison uniform. “We can take this off?”
The judge nodded. He motioned toward a guard in the corner. The man strode over to the girls and began removing their ankle shackles one by one. The weights fell to the ground with a satisfying clunk.
Hanna took a moment to relish what was happening. She wasn’t going back to prison! She wouldn’t have to shower in plain sight or starve for fear of the disgusting food or sleep next to a murderer. She’d get to be with Mike again. She’d get to do everything again!
Hanna stared at Emily. “You actually did it. You found her. You got us all free!”
Emily grinned, still seeming a bit stunned herself. “It’s crazy, isn’t it? The whole time I wasn’t sure if I could actually do it. But you guys were what kept me going. I thought of you the whole time—and that’s why I did what I did.”
They moved together into another group hug, everyone crying a little. Then Aria pulled back, sniffing, crying tears of joy. “You know, Em, we thought you were suicidal. We were so worried.”
Emily nodded. “I was struggling a lot, ever since what Ali did to Jordan. And I know I took a huge risk going after her—it probably was crazy. I had no idea if I would actually find her.” She slung one arm around Hanna’s shoulders and another around Spencer’s. “I’m just sorry that I had to leave you guys the way that I did. I felt terrible that I wasn’t there during the trial. It looked awful.”
“It was,” Spencer said. But then she shrugged. “I get it. What you were doing was far more important. We’ll never be able to repay you.”
“You never have to,” Emily said quickly. “You would have done the same for me.”
Hanna turned to the judge. He was flipping another page, his gaze on Alison. “As for you,” he said, the courtroom falling silent again. “You’re a flight risk, you’re a menace to society, you faked your own death, and you’re unsafe on your own, so you will await your trial in prison.” He banged his gavel. “Take her away.”
Two guards appeared at Ali’s sides and grabbed her arms. Ali let out a little grunt but let her limbs go limp. As they dragged her down the aisle, she glared at Hanna and the others. A shiver ran up Hanna’s spine as their eyes met.
Neither of them blinked. Ali stared at Hanna and the others with disdain and a seething fury. It was a look Hanna had never quite seen from her before, probably because Ali had always been the one in control. This look said, I can’t believe this is happening to me. Ali wasn’t used to being on the losing end. The last time she’d lost, really lost, was after Courtney switched places with her, sending her to The Preserve.
And just like that, everyone in the courtroom was rising and filing out. No guards rushed up to Hanna and the others to escort them away. Slowly, the girls turned and walked out on their own. Through the doorway, Hanna caught sight of her mom and Mike waiting in the lobby. She squealed.