Chapter 6 - The Deposition
Six months later, the legal proceedings began. The deposition room was tense, filled with expensive lawyers, federal prosecutors, and my family.
Arthur sat across the mahogany table, glaring at me with a look that used to turn my blood to ice. Now, it just looked pathetic.
His lead defense attorney, a shark named Harrison, leaned forward. "Miss Sterling, isn't it true that you hold a deep-seated grudge against your family? That you fabricated these audio files using AI technology to enact revenge?"
My attorney, a brilliant pro-bono lawyer who loved taking down billionaires, handed a thick binder across the table.
"Mr. Harrison," my lawyer said. "My client doesn't need AI. We have the sworn testimony of your client's Chief Financial Officer, who flipped yesterday in exchange for a plea deal. He corroborated every single file on Clara's flash drive."
Arthur's face drained of color. He turned slowly to look at his lawyer. "What?"
"Furthermore," my lawyer continued, "We have physical ledgers provided by your son, Julian, who also accepted a plea deal this morning."
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My mother let out a strangled gasp. Arthur slammed his fists on the table, rising to his feet, veins bulging in his neck.
"You ungrateful little brat!" Arthur roared, lunging across the table. He was restrained immediately by the federal marshals in the room, but the damage was done. His meticulously crafted mask of a calm, innocent businessman had shattered on the record.
