Chapter 5 - The First Domino Falls
"Are you insane?!" Blythe shrieked, backing away as the silver cuffs flashed under the fluorescent lights. "Do you know who I am?! My wedding is in five days! Cashin! My fiancé is Cashin Montgomery! You can't touch me! Mother! Aunt Vesper! Do something!"
Eleanor rushed forward, her face turning a mottled shade of purple with rage. She pointed a trembling, manicured finger directly at the police officer's chest. "This is an outrage! My daughter is marrying into the Montgomery family! You are making a catastrophic mistake! Sloan, tell these men to leave right now!"
I stood calmly beside Declan, my arms crossed over my chest, watching the spectacle with cold indifference.
"There is no mistake, Mrs. Sinclair," Marcus Vance stepped forward, opening his leather briefcase with deliberate slowness. He pulled out a crisp, laminated transcript and a small digital audio player. He pressed a button, and the clear, unmistakable sound of Blythe’s voice echoed off the sterile hospital walls:
*“You're always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong... Oops. Watch your step, little niece.”*
The color drained entirely from Blythe’s face. She staggered backward, her manicured hands flying to her mouth as the recording played on a loop in the quiet room.
Aunt Vesper clutched her pearls, gasping for breath. "Blythe... did you... did you really do that?"
"It’s a deepfake! It’s AI-generated!" Blythe screamed, tears of panic welling in her eyes as the officer firmly grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms behind her back. "Sloan made that! She hates me! She’s always been jealous of me! Cashin! Someone call Cashin!"
"Cashin Montgomery has already been informed," Marcus said smoothly, adjusting his cufflinks. "In fact, his corporate legal team received our evidentiary packet ten minutes ago. His father has already initiated annulment proceedings regarding the engagement. Furthermore, Montgomery Holdings is pulling all financial sponsorships from your wedding."
"No... NO!" Blythe wailed as the handcuffs clicked into place, biting into her wrists. She was hauled toward the doorway, her designer trench coat dragging slightly on the floor. "Mother! Help me! Sloan, you bitch! You'll pay for this!"
As the heavy glass doors swung shut behind the officers escorting my weeping, disgraced sister away, the waiting room felt remarkably quiet.
Eleanor trembled, sinking heavily back into the leather armchair, looking ten years older than she had five minutes ago. She stared at me, her eyes wide with sudden, terrifying comprehension.
"Sloan..." Eleanor whispered, her voice cracking. "How... how did you do this? Where did you get police officers... and high-powered lawyers? Who are you?"
I stepped closer to my mother, looking down at her with the weight of decades of emotional neglect lifting off my shoulders.
May you like
"You never bothered to find out, Mother," I said softly. "And by tomorrow morning, you won't even have a roof over your head to wonder about it. The foreclosure notice on the family estate is already on its way."
Before Eleanor could scream or beg, Declan took my hand, and we walked out of the waiting room, leaving them alone in the wreckage of their own making.
