### **Chapter 11: The Reckoning**
Harvard Law expected its students to master the system, not challenge it. Elle Hoods had no interest in playing by those rules.
The independent project loomed, and professors whispered about her approach. She wasn't analyzing precedent. She wasn't refining case law. She was putting the *entire institution* on trial, dissecting the ways justice failed the very people it claimed to protect.
Late nights turned into early mornings. Her desk was buried in reports, rulings, testimonies—each one another piece of evidence in her case against the system itself.
Preston Montgomery III lingered near her study table one evening, watching her sort through stacks of legal briefs. "You really think one paper is going to change all this?"
Elle didn't look up. "One case changes everything if people pay attention."
Preston exhaled. "And if they don't?"
Elle smirked, flipping to another page. "Then I make sure they do."
The final submission deadline arrived, and Elle turned in her work with no hesitation. The professor scanned the title page, raising an eyebrow at her chosen argument.
**"The Illusion of Justice: A System Designed to Survive Accountability."**
He looked up at her. "You don't write like a student, Miss Hoods."
She held his gaze. "Because justice isn't academic."
The next weeks would reveal whether Harvard Law was ready to hear her case. But Elle wasn't waiting for permission.
Change didn't ask for approval. It demanded *reckoning*.