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The dark red haze in my eyes slowly began to clear, replaced by the cool, stark reality of the dashboard light and the soft rhythm of my daughter’s breathing. / Chapter 6 / 8

Chapter 6 - THE USB IN MY POCKET

The entire auditorium went dead silent. Two thousand heads turned toward the back of the room.

I stood up slowly, stepping out from the shadow of the balcony into the bright center aisle. I removed my baseball cap, revealing my face to the crowd, the media cameras, and the stage.

Harrison’s confident smile froze instantly. Pendelton’s face drained of every ounce of color.

"It's David Vance!" a reporter shouted, and instantly, a dozen camera flashes exploded in my direction.

"Officers! Arrest that man!" Pendelton screamed into the microphone, banging his gavel. "He is trespassing! He is dangerous!"

left-stage, two police officers drew their tasers and began rushing down the center aisle toward me.

I didn't run. I didn't reach into my jacket. Instead, I pulled out my smartphone, hit a single red button on my custom cloud app, and held it high above my head.

"If those officers touch me," I roared into the echoing auditorium, my voice shaking the rafters, "the master override software I installed thirty minutes ago will stream the raw video files directly to every local news station, the State Attorney General, and every parent’s email address in this district database simultaneously!"

The two police officers stopped in their tracks, looking uncertainly back at the stage.

"He's bluffing!" Harrison yelled, though a thin bead of sweat was now trickling down his temple. "He has nothing!"

"I don't bluff about my daughter, Harrison," I said, walking slowly, deliberately down the center aisle toward the stage.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small, black USB thumb drive.

"In my hand, I hold the raw, unedited, forensic video feed from Camera 09, pulled directly from the server room basement before your IT director tried to destroy it," I announced to the thousands of stunned onlookers. "It shows Principal Jason Harrison physically assaulting my seven-year-old daughter, Lily, in the Storage B hallway yesterday evening at 5:17 PM."

The room erupted into chaotic gasps and shouts.

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"That's a lie! It's a deepfake! A forgery!" Harrison screamed, losing his calm composure for the first time, his voice cracking with panic.

"Is it?" I reached the front row, right below the stage. I looked up into the eyes of the school board members. "Then let's play it right now on that massive projection screen behind you. I've already overridden the AV booth's wireless input. All I have to do is press 'PLAY'."

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