Chapter 8 - The Video Plays
The high-definition video from the wooden owl filled every screen in the boardroom.
The audio was crisp and loud, blasting through the high-end ceiling speakers:
"How many times have I told you to keep that brat quiet?!"
The board members gasped in collective horror. Several directors covered their mouths as the footage showed Evelyn lunging forward, knotting her hand in Clara's hair, and violently slamming her face onto the hardwood floor.
"You are nothing! You are a temporary mistake!" Evelyn's recorded voice shrieked through the speakers.
On the screens, Dr. Harrison could be seen entering with the syringe, attempting to illegally sedate Clara while Evelyn watched with a cold, triumphant smile.
Evelyn's face turned ash-white. She gripped the edge of the mahogany table so hard her knuckles turned purple. "Turn that off! Turn it off right now! It's a fake! A deepfake generated by AI!"
"It's authenticated by state forensic cyber experts, Mother," I said, sliding a thick legal folder onto the table. "And the state police arrived at Dr. Harrison's clinic twenty minutes ago. He is currently under arrest for illegal administration of controlled substances, falsifying medical records, and extortion."
Mr. Vance looked at Evelyn with absolute disgust, pulling his hands away from her legal files as if they were covered in poison. "Evelyn... you lied to me. You used my company to try to cover up your own sickening abuse."
"Mr. Vance, wait! I did it for the family!" Evelyn pleaded frantically, her voice trembling, her carefully constructed facade completely shattering into dust before the most influential business leaders in the city. "Arthur is lying to you! He's manipulated by that girl!"
"The board vote is cancelled," Mr. Vance declared coldly, picking up his coat. "Vance Logistics will proceed with the merger—under Arthur's sole leadership. And if I ever see your face near a corporate board again, Evelyn, I will make sure every bank in this country revokes your credit lines."
One by one, the board members stood up, shaking their heads in disgust, and walked out of the room, leaving Evelyn standing completely alone at the head of the giant table.
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She sank slowly into her leather chair, her pearls choking her neck, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she stared at the screen where her own evil had been broadcast to the world.
"It's over, Evelyn," Clara said softly, looking down at her former tormentor. "You lost."
