Chapter 9 - The Exposure
The silence in the room was deafening.
Victoria recovered first, forcing a nervous laugh. "Officers, please. The boy is confused. He has severe brain trauma. He doesn't know what he's saying."
"I know exactly what I'm saying," Leo snapped back, his voice growing stronger. He pointed a shaking finger at his stepmother. "You put weed killer in my medicine. Elena has a video of it."
The lead officer paused, looking at Elena. "Is this true?"
"My phone is in my apron pocket," Elena said, breathing heavily. "Look for yourself."
The officer retrieved the phone. Elena guided him to the hidden file. He pressed play.
The audio of Victoria whispering, "Just a little something extra for your heart, sweet boy," played loud and clear in the quiet room.
Victoria panicked. She lunged for the phone, trying to knock it out of the officer's hand. "That's a deepfake! She edited that to frame me! I am the lady of this house, you work for me!"
"What the hell is going on here?"
Arthur Sterling stood in the doorway. He had heard his son's voice from the top of the stairs and run. He took one look at his son, speaking and alert, and the police holding his housekeeper in handcuffs.
The officer handed the phone to Arthur.
Arthur watched the video. The color drained from his face, replaced by a rage so terrifying and profound that the entire room seemed to drop ten degrees.
He slowly looked up at Victoria.
"Arthur, darling, please," Victoria backed away, her hands raised. "She set me up! You know me!"
"I don't know you at all," Arthur whispered, his voice trembling with fury. He looked at the Chief of Police, who had just walked into the room. "Arrest this woman for the attempted murder of my son."
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"Arthur, no! You can't do this! I own half this company!" Victoria screamed as the officers grabbed her arms, reading her her rights. She thrashed and kicked, her pristine image entirely shattered, looking exactly like the monster she had always been on the inside.
They dragged her screaming down the grand staircase, right past the hundreds of gala guests who watched in stunned silence as the billionaire's wife was hauled away in handcuffs.
