Chapter 4: The Gala Reckoning
The night of the Charity Foundation Gala was the stage Victoria had built for Arthur’s destruction. The ballroom was packed with the city’s power brokers, journalists, and district attorneys.
As Arthur took the stage to accept an award for his "philanthropy," the screens behind him flickered. Instead of a montage of his achievements, they began to display bank statements—thousands of them.
WIRE TRANSFER: $2 MILLION - OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS. DEATH CERTIFICATE (FORGED) - VICTORIA MILLER. ADOPTION RECORD - LILY MILLER (UNAUTHORIZED).
The room fell dead silent. Arthur’s face turned a sickening shade of gray. He grabbed the microphone, sputtering, "This is a hack! Someone is sabotaging me!"
Victoria stepped out from the shadows of the stage wings, walking into the spotlight. The gasps in the room were audible. The woman they thought was Eleanor Vance looked exactly like the woman they thought had died six years ago.
"Arthur," she said, her voice amplified throughout the hall. "The foundation isn't being hacked. It’s being audited. By the Department of Justice."
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Behind her, federal agents entered the ballroom. Arthur tried to bolt, but he was pinned against the podium by the weight of the evidence. He looked at the screen, then at Victoria, his voice a pathetic whimper. "I... I thought you were dead."
"I was a memory, Arthur," she said, stepping closer, her voice ice-cold. "But you chose to be a monster. And monsters belong in cages."
