Chapter 7 - The Digital Retribution
"Hold your fire!" a thunderous voice commanded.
Julian Montgomery marched into the room, his eyes wild, his tie loosened, accompanied by the hospital’s Chief of Security and two uniformed Chicago police officers.
"Julian!" Victoria sobbed, rushing toward him. "Thank God you're here! This crazy caterer broke in again! She tried to attack Clara, and when I intervened to protect her, she struck me with an IV pole!"
Julian looked at his sister. He didn't move to embrace her. His face was carved from granite.
"Is that so, Victoria?" Julian asked, his voice deathly quiet.
"Yes! Look at the shattered medicine bottle! She was trying to poison Clara!" Victoria cried, pointing a trembling finger at the puddle on the floor.
Maya stepped forward, lowering the IV pole. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, waterproof action camera—the kind used by extreme sports athletes and modern event videographers.
"She’s lying, Mr. Montgomery," Maya said calmly. "And I don't just have my word this time."
Victoria’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes locked onto the small black device.
"What is that?" Victoria hissed.
"During the party, the catering company hired me to wear an ultra-compact bodycam on my apron to shoot dynamic footage for their promotional reel," Maya explained, her gaze fixed entirely on Julian. "When I dove into that pool, the camera was rolling. It recorded in 4K resolution, 60 frames per second, fully stabilized. And while I was hiding in that bathroom tonight, Clara’s room was also within view of my phone's camera hidden in the ventilation grate."
Maya unlocked her smartphone and pressed play.
She turned the screen toward Julian.
The audio was crisp, clear, and sickening. Victoria’s voice echoed through the high-grade speakers: *A boy. A parasite who will steal thirty years of my blood, sweat, and tears with a single cry... Say goodbye to your bastard, Clara.*
Then came the visual: Victoria’s manicured hands grabbing the wheelchair handles, the deliberate, malicious shove, and Victoria standing at the edge of the pool, calmly watching Clara sink, smiling as the bubbles rose.
The video then cut to the hospital room footage from five minutes prior: Victoria pinning Clara to the bed, declaring her intent to use potassium chloride to cause a fatal heart attack.
Julian’s face went through an agonizing metamorphosis. Disbelief shattered into pure, unadulterated horror, which instantly calcified into a rage so volcanic that the entire room seemed to vibrate with it.
He slowly turned his head to look at his sister.
Victoria stepped back, the blood completely draining from her face. "Julian... Julian, listen to me... it’s a deepfake. She manipulated the footage! You know AI can generate anything now! Julian, I raised you! I built this company for us!"
"You tried to murder my wife," Julian whispered, his voice cracking with a terrifying mixture of tears and venom. "You tried to drown my unborn son."
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"She was taking everything from me!" Victoria finally screamed, her mask completely fracturing, revealing the rabid monster underneath. "Everything! Father promised Montgomery Holdings to ME! I gave up my youth, my marriages, my sanity for that empire! And then you marry this penniless nobody, and Father’s will says it all goes to your brat?! I DESERVE THAT EMPIRE! NOT HER! NOT THAT THING IN HER BELLY!"
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