Chapter 17 - The Cornered Rat
|
The crushing silence broke as a federal judge in the front row let out a loud, disgusted scoff, turning his back on Eleanor entirely.
Panic finally seized Eleanor’s features. The flawless, aristocratic mask dissolved into pure, desperate terror.
"Richard, no!" Eleanor cried out, her voice shrill and breaking. She looked around wildly at the disgusted faces of the elite. "It's a fake! It's a deepfake! Someone used AI to manipulate my voice! I would never say those things!"
She looked at Richard, tears streaming down her face, trying to play the victim one last time. "Darling, please! Someone is trying to ruin me! You have to believe me!"
Richard stepped off the dais. He didn't yell. He didn't look angry. He looked at her with the cold, dead eyes of an executioner.
"I don't believe you, Eleanor," Richard said, his voice carrying clearly across the silent room. "Because I found her eating dog food on the kitchen floor."
A collective murmur of absolute horror rippled through the crowd. Several women covered their mouths.
Across the room, Julian Vance realized the grift was completely blown. His survival instincts kicked in. He dropped his bourbon glass, letting it shatter on the marble floor, and made a desperate sprint toward the side exit leading to the terrace.
"Julian!" Eleanor screamed, realizing her partner was abandoning her to the wolves.
Julian grabbed the heavy brass handle of the terrace door and yanked violently. It didn't budge. The door was locked from the outside.
Before Julian could turn around, two massive "waiters" in white coats stepped out of the shadows. Marcus was one of them.
Julian tried to throw a punch, but Marcus blocked it effortlessly. With a brutal, sickening crunch, Marcus drove his fist into Julian's stomach, folding the grifter in half. The second guard grabbed Julian by the collar and slammed him face-first into the marble floor, pinning him down with a heavy knee to the spine.
Julian groaned in agony, completely neutralized.
May you like
Eleanor spun around, trapped in the center of the room, surrounded by three hundred disgusted guests and a wall of silent, heavily armed men disguised as catering staff.
She was completely, utterly cornered.
