Chapter 9 - The Truth Revealed
Arthur ran forward, stepping between the two women. He looked at Clara, betrayal in his eyes. "Clara, I trusted you! My wife said you were unstable, but I—"
"Arthur, stop," Clara interrupted, her voice booming with an authority that shocked him into silence.
She didn't argue. She didn't yell. She simply held up her phone and pressed play.
The audio from Silas, the underground smuggler, echoed loudly in the quiet hallway.
“She paid cash. Fifty grand. She wanted something that would cause agonizing pain but wouldn't kill the kid immediately...”
Arthur’s face drained of blood.
Clara swiped to the next file. The images of the ten-million-dollar life insurance policy filled the screen. Then, she played the audio she had just recorded two minutes ago.
“He was going to leave everything to that brat. I deserve this empire. I earned it by playing the perfect, doting wife!”
Vanessa’s voice, clear as day, confessing to the entire plot.
The two board members standing behind Arthur pulled out their phones, instantly dialing 911.
Vanessa backed against the wall, her perfect facade crumbling into dust. She looked at Arthur, desperate. "Arthur, please. It's a deepfake! She fabricated all of this!"
Arthur looked down at the syringe lying on the Persian rug. He looked at the woman he had brought into his home, the woman he had allowed to care for his son.
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"You put an insect inside my boy's cast," Arthur whispered, his voice shaking with a terrifying, quiet rage. "You tortured him."
Vanessa tried to run. She bolted for the stairs, but Arthur caught her by the fabric of her expensive red gown, hauling her backward and pinning her to the floor until the sirens wailed in the distance.
