Chapter 2 - THE SILENT GARDEN
The heavy silence in the garden party felt colder than the evening breeze rustling through the white flower displays. Claire stood motionless on the wooden stage, her emerald green gown draping elegantly over her pregnant silhouette as she dropped the black wireless microphone onto the stage. The gold wedding band rolled slowly across the wooden floorboards, coming to a halt directly at the base of the post holding the American flag.
Ethan scrambled over the fallen chairs, his charcoal grey suit disheveled as he reached frantically toward Claire. Two tall security guards stepped into his path, blocking him with unyielding military precision before he could touch her arm.
"Claire, please listen to me!" Ethan begged, his voice cracking with desperation as guests pulled out their smartphones to record his public downfall. "That video is a deepfake setup meant to ruin us!"
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Victoria stood rigid near the head table, her powder blue suit pristine while her manicured hands clutched her pearl necklace in sheer horror. She glared at her son before turning her furious gaze onto the woman holding her family's entire legacy in her hands.
Claire did not shed a single tear as she stepped off the garden stage, her face an unreadable mask of icy composure. She walked past the whispering crowd without looking back once, stepping into a waiting black SUV that sped away into the Hamptons night.
