Chapter 9
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ethan’s voice boomed over the speakers, dripping with venom and arrogant victory. "Before anyone signs a single contract with this woman, you need to see the truth! She is a massive fraud, a criminal, and a liar!"
He signaled Natalie, who aggressively plugged their flash drive into the main AV console. They fully expected the massive eighty-foot digital screens surrounding the ballroom to play their fabricated Seedance 2.0 deepfake, exposing me to the entire world.
I stood in the center of the room, calmly sipping my vintage champagne, and gave a subtle, sharp nod to David.
In the production booth high above the ballroom floor, Giang and Tới, dialed in remotely from Vietnam, hijacked the main feed.
The screens didn't display my face. They illuminated with undeniable, damning evidence of corporate cyber-terrorism.
It was a digital masterpiece of public execution. The colossal screens displayed the wire transfer receipts, the IP logs tying the black-market VIA clone network directly to Natalie’s warehouse, and the raw source code of the AI deepfake. Finally, the audio system blasted a crystal-clear recorded phone call of Ethan and Natalie plotting to extort my investors using the fake video.
The entire gala erupted into shocked gasps and furious whispers. The billionaires and executives physically stepped away from Ethan and Natalie, looking at them with absolute, unadulterated disgust.
"You are corporate terrorists," I said, my voice echoing clearly through the silent, captivated room, carrying the weight of an absolute queen. "You used illegal bot farms and AI deepfakes to manipulate the market and attempt to destroy my company."
Ethan glared at me, his chest heaving, his face drained of all color. His jaw worked silently as the reality of his absolute destruction washed over him. Natalie looked at the screens, realized they were about to be federally indicted, and literally dropped her clutch, backing away from her partner-in-crime in sheer horror.
"FBI! Nobody move!"
The command thundered through the grand ballroom. From the stairwells and the main entrances, dozens of heavily armed federal agents from the Cyber Crimes Division swarmed the room. Laser sights danced across Ethan’s chest.
"Ethan Vance, Natalie Vance, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, corporate espionage, and cyber-extortion," the lead agent announced, violently pulling their arms behind their backs to snap heavy steel handcuffs onto their wrists.
Ethan began sobbing, his knees buckling as he was dragged across the marble floor. "No! Please! She set me up! I didn't do it!"
"You made your choice, Ethan," I said coldly, looking down at the pathetic, broken man I had once wasted my youth on. "Enjoy federal prison."
As they were hauled out of the ballroom in disgrace, David stepped up beside me, wrapping a strong, protective arm around my waist. He looked at the ruined syndicate being dragged away, and then looked down at me with a profound, overwhelming reverence.
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"You are absolutely terrifying," David murmured, a proud, thrilling smile touching his lips.
"I only destroy the monsters who try to touch my family," I smiled back, leaning into his solid, unbreakable embrace. The room around us erupted into applause, the nightmare officially, permanently over.
