Chapter 4 - The Tables Turn at the Boardroom Summit
The grand glass-walled boardroom of Sterling Technologies was packed to maximum capacity. Investors, board members, and legal counsel sat in tense silence as Marcus Sterling prepared to sign the multi-million-dollar prenuptial merger with Vanessa Brooks, cementing her as co-owner of his entire estate.
Vanessa sat beside him, wearing a dazzling diamond choker, though her hands trembled slightly beneath the mahogany table as she checked her watch for the third time. Where are the enforcers? she thought anxiously. Why hasn't Elena been dealt with?
"Before we sign, Mr. Sterling," a sharp, clear voice echoed from the heavy oak double doors at the back of the room.
The entire boardroom turned in unison.
Elena Vance strode down the center aisle. She was no longer wearing the tattered clothes of a dismissed maid; she wore a sharp, professional navy suit borrowed from a legal aid friend, her posture straight, her head held high, flanked by two armed municipal police detectives.
Marcus slammed his pen down on the table, his face flushing with furious rage as he recognized her. “You?! Security! How the hell did this criminal get into my building? Drag her out of here right now!”
“Sit down, Marcus, and watch the screen,” Detective Miller commanded, flashing his badge as he plugged a secure flash drive into the boardroom’s massive master projector console.
The projector flickered to life. The high-definition footage of Camera 04 began playing on the fifteen-foot screen for the entire executive board to see.
The room gasped in horror as the video clearly projected Vanessa Brooks walking up to the stroller, maliciously releasing the brake, and shoving the infant toward the water—followed by her theatrical performance of framing the maid seconds later.
Marcus sat frozen in his leather chair, the color draining entirely from his face. He looked from the screen to Vanessa, whose face was now the color of ash.
“No... no, it’s a deepfake! It’s fabricated!” Vanessa shrieked, jumping to her feet, knocking her chair backward onto the carpet. “She hacked the cameras! Marcus, you know I love that boy! You can't believe her!”
“Shut up,” Marcus whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying, apocalyptic rage. He stood up slowly, towering over Vanessa. “I watched you point your finger at her. I threw an innocent woman out into the rain because of your lies... and you tried to murder my son.”
Detective Miller stepped forward, slapping heavy steel handcuffs onto Vanessa’s wrists. “Vanessa Brooks, you are under arrest for attempted homicide, child endangerment, and wire fraud.”
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As Vanessa was dragged kicking and screaming out of the boardroom by the police, dead silence hung over the executives. Marcus turned around, his eyes red-rimmed and filled with agonizing guilt, staring directly at Elena.
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