Chapter 7 - The Reckoning
The Grand Ballroom of the Metropolitan Convention Center was packed with over five hundred journalists, news anchors, and high-society elites. Victoria Cole stood near the podium, dressed in a stunning black evening gown, smiling graciously for the flashing cameras.
Thanks to her father’s influence, she had been released from police holding on "insufficient evidence" less than an hour ago. She was acting as the proxy speaker for her father's campaign while he was "handling an urgent national security matter."
"My father believes in family, strength, and order," Victoria announced into the microphone, her voice echoing through the massive hall and broadcasting live on national television. "We must protect our children from the chaos of this world—"
BZZZZZT!
The massive broadcast screens behind her suddenly flickered and turned to static.
The audio feed cut out. The room filled with confused murmurs as the press corps looked around.
Then, the screens turned bright red.
Audio boomed from the stadium speakers—crisp, clear, and unmistakable:
"Why is my daughter cleaning your floor?"
"She said I had to earn dinner..."
Victoria’s blood drained from her face. She froze, staring at the screens in utter horror.
Video footage played across every single news channel in the nation. It wasn't just the audio from that evening. It was high-definition security footage from inside the mansion over the past month.
It showed Victoria slapping Lily’s face. It showed her forcing the starved child to scrub floors until her knees bled. It showed Victoria pouring freezing water over the girl’s head while laughing with her syndicate associates on the phone.
The entire ballroom went dead silent. Reporters stood with their mouths open. Cameras zoomed in on Victoria’s terrified, pale face.
"Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!" Victoria screamed, lunging for the control panel near the stage.
Before she could reach it, the heavy double doors of the ballroom were thrown open.
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Alexander Vance walked in.
He was covered in dirt and rain, his shirt stained with blood, but he walked with the terrifying majesty of a king returning to execute a traitor. Beside him walked federal agents from the Department of Justice, flanked by fifty armed State Troopers.
