Chapter 17 - THE HEARING
The congressional hearing was broadcast live.
Victor sat behind a microphone in a dark suit, smaller than he had looked on the airplane.
Maya sat three seats away.
Lena testified first.
Daniel testified second.
Then Maya played Jonah's final message.
Nobody in the chamber moved.
Victor's attorney objected.
The chairwoman ignored him.
Maya spoke without notes.
"My brother died because people with power decided delay was more expensive than risk. Then they changed the paper until the risk looked like his mistake."
A senator asked, "Dr. Brooks, do you believe Mr. Langston personally caused your brother's death?"
Maya looked at Victor.
"I believe he helped build a system where nobody had to feel personally responsible. That's how systems like this survive."
Victor leaned toward his microphone.
"This is revenge. She has hated me for years."
Maya touched the fading mark on her cheek.
"I didn't know you until you hit me."
A low murmur moved through the room.
Victor's face flushed.
Then the chairwoman held up a newly delivered document.
"Mr. Langston, we have just received an email written by you the morning after Captain Brooks's crash."
She read one line aloud.
MAKE THE PILOT OWN IT.
May you like
During a recess, Claire texted Maya a photograph of Jonah's children watching the hearing from home. His son had placed the model airplane on the coffee table beneath the television. Maya stared at the image until the chamber blurred. She had spent years imagining justice as a dramatic moment when the guilty finally broke. Instead it felt slow and procedural: exhibits numbered, microphones adjusted, lawyers objecting, clerks stamping paper. Maybe that was the point. Truth did not need spectacle if it could survive procedure.
Victor stopped breathing.
