Chapter 4 - The Audience Below
Downstairs in the main ballroom, the atmosphere had transformed from a festive social gala into an arena of absolute horror and outrage.
Sixty seconds after I had walked upstairs, the four screens in the main lounge had flickered, switching from the promotional footage to the crystal-clear feed from my necklace.
At first, the guests had assumed it was a pre-recorded performance or an avant-garde artistic installation. But when Damian closed the bedroom door and locked it, when Serena spoke of stealing millions from the company, the room had gone completely, utterly silent.
"My God..." whispered Marcus Vance, the lead independent director of Sterling Biometrics, dropping his crystal glass onto the marble floor, where it shattered into a dozen pieces. "He's... he's blackmailing her."
Beside him stood Chief Inspector Thomas Miller of the Phoenix Police Department, his eyes locked onto the screen as Serena casually admitted to fourteen months of international wire fraud and corporate embezzlement.
"Is this live?" Chief Miller demanded, turning sharply toward the terrified AV manager who was currently kneeling behind the media console, sweating profusely.
"Y-yes, Chief!" the technician whimpered, his hands trembling over the control board. "The necklace... the signal is linked directly to the main display bridge! I can't cut the signal without shutting down the entire estate power grid!"
"Don't you dare touch that board," Chief Miller ordered, his voice dropping into a deep, lethal authority. He reached into his coat jacket, pulled out his radio, and clicked the transmission button. "All units stationed on property, this is Miller. Secure all perimeter exits immediately. No one leaves the estate. I repeat, no one leaves."
Across the room, journalists from The Wall Street Journal and The Phoenix Business Journal were already holding their smartphones high in the air, recording the live broadcast on the wall screens, capturing every single frame of Damian and Serena’s betrayal.
"Look at them," muttered Evelyn Croft, her face pale with fury as she watched Serena brag about transferring funds to Zurich. "The absolute monsters... she's carrying twins!"
On the screens, the camera angle shifted slightly as I stood my ground, my voice echoing crisp and clear through the room’s high-end surround-sound speakers:
"You think threatening a pregnant woman in her own home will work, Damian?"
A collective gasp swept through the crowd downstairs.
"She knows," Marcus Vance whispered, his eyes widening with realization as he looked closer at the screen. "Look at her posture. She isn't backing down. She's keeping them talking."
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"She's building the evidentiary record," Chief Miller said, a grim, admiring smile touching his lips. "She's getting them to confess to every single charge on camera."
Downstairs, two hundred people held their breath, watching the drama unfold on the second floor, waiting for the trap to snap shut.
