Chapter 9 - The Public Execution
The grand ballroom of the St. Regis was a masterpiece of opulence, packed with the city's most powerful tech executives and digital marketers. I walked through the grand double doors wearing a backless, emerald-green silk gown that commanded the attention of the entire room. Mark walked beside me, an imposing, impenetrable fortress in a dark tailored suit.
At exactly 9:00 PM, the heavy doors swung open again.
Daniel and Vanessa strode in. Daniel was wearing an ill-fitting suit he clearly couldn't afford, while Vanessa was draped in a flashy, desperate attempt at luxury. They looked incredibly smug, clutching a flash drive that they believed held the final nail for my coffin.
They marched straight toward the main stage, where the event organizers were preparing for the keynote presentations. Daniel shoved past a security guard and grabbed a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Daniel’s voice boomed over the speakers, dripping with arrogant triumph. "Before you sign any contracts with Claire Mercer and APT, you need to see the truth! She is a fraud!"
He signaled Vanessa, who aggressively plugged their flash drive into the main AV console. They expected the massive eighty-foot digital screens surrounding the ballroom to play their fabricated Seedance 2.0 deepfake.
I stood in the center of the room, sipping my champagne, and gave a subtle nod to Mark.
In the production booth above, Giang and Tới, dialed in remotely, hijacked the 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 screens displayed the wire transfer receipts, the IP logs tying the black-market VIA clone network directly to Daniel’s apartment, and the raw source code of the AI deepfake. Finally, it displayed a recorded audio file of Vanessa and Daniel plotting to extort the tech conglomerate using the fake video.
The entire gala erupted into shocked gasps and furious whispers. The executives physically stepped away from Daniel and Vanessa, looking at them with absolute, unadulterated disgust.
"You are corporate terrorists," I said, my voice echoing clearly through the silent, captivated room. "You used illegal bot farms and AI to manipulate the market and attempt to destroy my company."
Daniel glared at me, his chest heaving, his face drained of all color. Vanessa looked at the screens, realized they were about to be federally indicted, and literally dropped her clutch, backing away from him in horror.
"FBI! Nobody move!"
The command thundered through the grand ballroom. Dozens of heavily armed federal agents from the Cyber Crimes Division swarmed the room. Laser sights danced across Daniel’s chest.
"Daniel Mercer, Vanessa Carter, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, corporate espionage, and cyber-extortion," the lead agent announced, snapping heavy steel handcuffs onto both of them.
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Daniel began sobbing, dropping to his knees. "Claire, please! I'm sorry! Don't do this to me!"
"You made your choice, Daniel," I said coldly, looking down at the pathetic, broken man. "Enjoy federal prison."
