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Chapter 7 - THE TRUTH ON LIVE TELEVISIONThe entire crowd went dead silent as high-definition security camera footage began playing on the giant screen.

It was night-vision footage from the back service kitchen of the estate—recorded just four days ago.

The high-definition video clearly showed Sarah sitting on a plastic stool in rags, shivering in the damp dark. It showed my six-year-old son, Jamie, crying, begging for food. It showed Sarah crying as she rinsed a plate of spoiled, sour rice to feed to our son.

The audio roared crisp and clear through the massive outdoor speakers:

ā€œShhh, baby. Don’t make noise. If Grandma hears us, she’ll yell again. Eat this instead. I rinsed the spoiled rice so it won’t taste so sour...ā€

A collective, horrific gasp erupted from the crowd of reporters and neighbors. Several female journalists covered their mouths in utter shock.

"Oh my god..." reporter Brenda Blake whispered into her live microphone. "Look at that child..."

The video kept playing.

It showed Prudence walking into the back kitchen, draped in silk, holding a platter of roasted chicken, mocking Sarah and Jamie, telling them they could only eat scraps if there was anything left after the party.

Then came the second piece of evidence.

The screen shifted to bank statements, legal documents, and voice recordings.

A voice recording played loudly over the speakers—Gertrude’s voice, clear as day, from her phone call with me two nights ago:

ā€œI made $1,500 a month off your allowance! ... If you want me to clear the deed, bring Sarah to my apartment, make her drop to her knees, and beg for my forgiveness!ā€

The crowd went completely wild. The crowd of neighbors who had come to protest against me suddenly turned their rage toward Gertrude, Prudence, and Marcus.

"You sick, evil woman!" a neighbor screamed at Gertrude.

"Starving a child?! How could you?!" another shouted.

Gertrude's face went from pale to ghostly white. She stumbled back, trying to cover her face from the dozens of flashing news cameras. "No! Turn it off! That's fake! It's AI! It's forged!"

Prudence tried to run toward her car, but reporters swarmed her, thrusting microphones into her face. "Miss Vance! Did you really force your nephew to eat spoiled rice while you wore designer clothes bought with his father's money?!"

"Get away from me!" Prudence screamed, hiding her face in her hands, sobbing in pure humiliation.

At that exact moment, two black-and-white Bayside Police cruisers pulled up to the curb with their lights flashing.

Chief of Police Miller stepped out of the lead vehicle, flanked by four uniformed officers.

Gertrude rushed toward the Chief, gasping for air. "Chief Miller! Thank God you're here! Arrest my son! Arrest him for defamation!"

Chief Miller looked at Gertrude with utter disgust. He pulled out a pair of shiny steel handcuffs.

"Gertrude Vance," Chief Miller said coldly. "You, Prudence Vance, and Marcus Vance are under arrest for felony child neglect, grand larceny, fraud, and extortion."

"WHAT?!" Gertrude shrieked as the cold steel cuffed her wrists behind her back. "You can't arrest ME! I'm high society!"

"Not anymore," Chief Miller spat, shoving her into the back of the police cruiser.

Prudence was cuffed next, screaming and kicking as her press-on nails snapped off. Marcus was slapped in cuffs while crying uncontrollably, begging our mother to fix it.

The entire arrest was broadcast live on national television.

I stood at the gates of my estate, holding Sarah’s hand tightly, watching the police cars drive away with the people who had tortured my family for five years.

Sarah looked up at me, tears streaming down her face—not of sorrow, but of absolute relief.

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"It's over, Ethan," she whispered. "It's finally over."

"Not quite, my love," I replied softly, looking down at my watch. "There is still one final twist left in this story."

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