Chapter 16 - The Screen
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A massive, high-definition projector screen dropped silently from the ceiling behind Richard.
The ballroom lights dimmed dramatically, plunging the glittering crowd into a hushed, cinematic darkness. Eleanor smiled again, assuming it was a romantic slideshow—a montage of their vacations, their elegant dinners, a public declaration of his utter devotion.
Instead, the screen flickered to life, displaying a stark, black background.
There was no music. There was no video.
There was only a harsh, scratching static, followed by the unmistakable, heavy clicking of designer heels on a marble floor.
The audio file began to play.
"Stop crying."
Eleanor’s voice boomed through the massive surround-sound speakers of the ballroom. It wasn't the sweet, melodic tone she had been using all night. It was venomous, sharp, and dripping with absolute, terrifying cruelty.
A collective gasp swept through the crowd of two hundred guests.
A small, hiccuping sob echoed from the speakers. The unmistakable sound of a terrified child.
"I said stop crying," Eleanor’s recorded voice snapped aggressively. "Your father isn't here to save you. He's at work. Do you know why he's at work? Because he's exhausted by you. You are a burden, Sophie. A whiny, useless little burden."
The color drained entirely from Eleanor’s face. She looked like a ghost standing in her red silk gown. Her hands began to shake violently.
"I'm hungry," Sophie's tiny, trembling voice pleaded through the speakers, tearing at the heart of everyone in the room.
"Bad girls don't get to eat," Eleanor replied coldly, the sadism clear in every syllable. "You'll eat when I decide you've earned it. And if you tell him I didn't feed you, I will make sure he sends you away to a home for broken children."
The audio hissed and ended. The screen went completely black.
The ballroom lights snapped back on to full, blinding brightness.
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The silence in the room was absolute, heavy, and horrifying. Two hundred of the city's most powerful people stared at Eleanor in pure, unadulterated disgust. The illusion was shattered. The monster was exposed.
Eleanor stood frozen in the center of the room, completely trapped by the damning echoes of her own voice.
