Chapter 3 - The Audio Confession
The recording was crystal clear.
"Transfer the remaining two million into the Sarah-shell account by Friday."
"If the auditors catch wind of the discrepancy, they'll trace it directly to her."
"She's a naive college student."
"We can easily spin it that she got in over her head with bad investments."
"No one is going to question a respected CEO over a troubled twenty-two-year-old girl."
The recording clicked off.
The crowd erupted into absolute pandemonium.
People were screaming.
Smartphones were held high in the air, recording every single second of this digital execution.
Arthur Sterling frantically tried to shove his way past the two campus security guards.
"That's a deepfake!" he screamed frantically.
"She fabricated that audio with artificial intelligence!"
"She's a psychotic, ungrateful child!"
Dr. Thorne, the provost, stepped firmly in front of the stage.
He looked back at me, his eyes filled with a mixture of horror and profound respect.
"Let her finish, Arthur," Dr. Thorne commanded.
His voice carried the weight of absolute authority.
"If it's a fake, you have nothing to worry about."
"But if you take one more step toward this stage, I will have you arrested for assault."
My father froze.
He realized he was trapped.
He was surrounded by six hundred witnesses who had just watched him strike his own daughter.
There was no PR team here to save him.
There was no expensive lawyer to object to my evidence.
I looked down at Julian, my arrogant older brother.
His smug smile had melted into a mask of pure terror.
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"Don't think I forgot about you, Julian," I said into the microphone.
I tapped the screen one more time.
