Chapter 25 - The Trial of the Decade
One year after the bank robbery that changed everything, the Westbridge Metropolitan Police Academy held its annual graduation ceremony on a bright, cloudless summer morning.
The academy parade ground was lined with American flags snapping in the warm breeze, brass bands playing, and hundreds of proud families cheering from the bleachers.
Standing in the front rank of the graduating cadet class, wearing the crisp navy dress uniform of a probationary police officer, was Officer Caleb Reed.
He had graduated at the very top of his class in marksmanship, physical tactics, and criminal law, earning the prestigious *Valedictorian Shield of Honor*.
On the VIP stage sat Chief Federal Prosecutor Sarah Vance and Detective Lucas Miller, both beaming with undeniable pride.
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And sitting quietly in the back row of the family pavilion, wearing a clean suit and enjoying his first week of work-release parole, sat Marcus Hale—smiling through tears as he watched the son of Daniel Reed take the oath of service.
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