The same building had once reduced his future to a sentence pronounced
from a bench.
Now his attorneys presented the server records.
They presented the copied authentication token.
They presented the vendor payments made after Mason lost access to
company systems.
They presented financial trails connected to Travis.
They presented statements from the former controller.
The prosecutor did something Mason never expected.
She stood and told the judge the state could no longer defend the
integrity of the original verdict.
Mason stopped breathing.
His attorney touched his arm.
The judge reviewed the filings.
Then the conviction was vacated.
There was no explosion of applause.
No dramatic music.
No one gave Mason three years back.
The clerk simply entered the order.
Mason walked outside and stood on the courthouse steps.
Reporters waited near the sidewalk.
He declined interviews.
Naomi stood beside him.
“What do you want to do?” she asked.
Mason looked up at the sky.
