The jury filed back into the courtroom after three days of deliberation, their faces revealing nothing as they took their seats; Chui sat at the defendant's table flanked by Victoria Sterling and her legal team, maintaining the composed expression he'd worn throughout the six-week trial.

Judge William Morrison surveyed the packed courtroom. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

The jury foreman, a retired engineer named Mr. Patterson, stood. "We have, Your Honor."

"In the matter of The State ...