26

At the library, Sloane distracts herself from thoughts of Lucian—after their intense night and planned Valentine’s date—by helping prepare a children’s scavenger hunt. Naomi arrives with coffee and ushers Sloane to meet the attorney Lucian recommended.

Attorney Fran Vereen briskly lays out the uphill path: appeals are slow and costly, pardons and commutations are rare, and Virginia requires serving at least eighty-five percent of sentences. Despite the bleak framework, Fran believes Mary Louise’s sentence is disproportionate and that multiple public defenders suggest ineffective assistance—grounds to pursue relief.

Fran stresses the need for public interest and proposes Sloane as the case’s visible advocate, leveraging Sloane’s story and her father’s legacy to humanize Mary Louise. The plan starts with local media, coordinated PR, and then a request for an in-camera meeting with Judge Atkins to seek sentence reduction.

Financial concerns ease when Fran offers to take the case pro bono, with possible court costs later. Sloane signs the retainer, and Fran heads to meet Mary Louise. Sloane texts Lucian the news; he responds with dry realism, underscoring the daunting but now-activated fight.