Chapter 6 - THE SILENT COMPLICITY
The crowd of neighborhood onlookers shifted uncomfortably on the grass, their eyes darting between Richard and Sarah.
For three years, Richard’s HOA presidency and lavish backyard parties had bought him absolute social immunity.
Now, standing under the waving folds of the American flag, their cowardice was laid completely bare.
No one stepped forward to check on little Lily, and no one condemned Mason for his vicious actions.
Sarah’s deadpan gaze swept across the circle of silent bystanders, noting every single averted eye.
"You all watched him do it," Sarah noted quietly, her voice echoing in the suffocating stillness.
Richard swallowed hard, his face turning an unflattering shade of crimson as he tried to regain control of the narrative.
"That's... that's a heavily edited deepfake! Anyone can manipulate video files these days!" Richard stammered desperately.
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Sarah didn't even bother arguing with his pathetic excuse, simply pressing a button to upload the raw file to the cloud.
Within seconds, the unedited footage began transmitting directly to every homeowner association member's email inbox.
