Chapter 6 - The Breakdown
Thursday evening, Tiffany went live on Instagram.
With her follower count dropping by the thousands and her sponsorships gone, she was desperate to control the narrative. I watched the broadcast from my phone while sitting on Maya's couch.
Tiffany looked disheveled. Her hair was messy (intentionally, to look sympathetic), and she wore no makeup. She sat on the floor of her massive, sterile living room, crying to her remaining audience of rubberneckers.
"You guys only saw a clipped video," Tiffany sobbed to the camera. "You don't know the truth. Julian has always been so mean to me. And Elena... Elena is obsessed with my husband. She’s been trying to ruin our marriage for years. The graduation seating was just a misunderstanding!"
Maya snorted in disgust. "She deserves an Oscar for delusion."
Suddenly, the front door of Tiffany’s house slammed open in the background of the video. Mark marched into the frame, completely ignoring the fact that his wife was broadcasting to twenty thousand people. He looked like a madman. His tie was undone, his face was purple, and he was holding a stack of legal documents.
"Turn that off!" Mark bellowed, kicking a decorative floor lamp out of his way.
"Mark, I'm talking to my followers!" Tiffany whined.
"You don't have followers anymore!" Mark screamed, waving the papers in her face. "Our accounts are frozen! My firm just suspended me without pay! Elena filed an emergency injunction and a police report for the college fund!"
Tiffany’s eyes went wide. The chat on the live stream was moving so fast it was a blur. She fumbled for the phone, realizing too late that her husband had just confessed to a financial crime live on the internet.
"What college fund?" Tiffany shrieked, forgetting the camera entirely. "You told me the money for the Range Rover came from your bonus!"
"There hasn't been a bonus in two years!" Mark yelled back. "You bled me dry, Tiffany! And now the FBI is going to be knocking on my door!"
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The live stream abruptly cut out, plunging the screen into darkness.
Maya and I sat in stunned silence for a full ten seconds before Maya threw her head back and let out a triumphant scream of laughter. The internet never forgets.
