Chapter 8 - THE SCHOOL BOARD ASSEMBLY
The school gymnasium was packed with hundreds of parents, teachers, and local politicians.
The bleachers were full.
A large podium was set up at the center of the basketball court, draped in the school colors.
I stood in the shadows near the back entrance, clutching the silver watch and the USB drive in my pocket.
My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.
Harper had my mother.
If I played the recording, he would destroy her life. He would frame her, send her to prison, and leave me with nothing.
But if I gave him the drive, he would get away with my father's murder forever.
I saw Olivia slip through the side doors. She looked frantic.
She ran over to me, grabbing my arms.
"Emma, he has your mom!" Olivia whispered, tears streaming down her face. "He locked her in his office at our house with his security guards. He told me if you try anything tonight, he'll ruin her."
"I know," I said, my voice cracking. "He sent me a picture."
"What are you going to do?"
I looked at the podium.
Marcus Harper was walking up the steps, adjusting his expensive suit. The crowd erupted into applause.
Vice Principal Davis stood near the front row, clapping loudly.
"I'm going to end this," I said.
"Emma, he'll destroy your family!"
"He already destroyed my family, Olivia. Ten years ago."
I walked out of the shadows.
Harper began his speech.
"Community," Harper said, his voice booming over the speakers. "It is the foundation of everything we build. Together, we ensure our children have the brightest futures possible."
"LIAR!" I screamed.
The gym went dead silent.
Three hundred heads turned to look at me.
I marched down the center aisle of the folding chairs, staring directly at the podium.
Harper's confident smile faltered.
"Emma Brooks," Vice Principal Davis said, stepping into the aisle to block me. "You are disrupting a public event. Security, remove this student!"
Two large security guards started toward me.
"Let her speak!"
The shout came from behind me.
Olivia was standing on top of the bleachers, holding a microphone she had taken from the sound desk.
"My father is a murderer!" Olivia's voice echoed through the gym.
The crowd gasped.
Harper gripped the podium, his knuckles white. "Someone cut her mic!"
"He killed Arthur Brooks ten years ago to steal his company!" Olivia yelled, pointing at her father. "And Vice Principal Davis helped him!"
Chaos erupted. Parents were standing up. Board members were shouting.
Davis lunged at me, trying to grab my jacket.
I ducked, pulled the USB drive from my pocket, and sprinted past him toward the soundboard near the stage.
The audio technician was staring in shock.
I slammed the USB drive into his laptop.
"Play it!" I yelled at the tech.
"I can't—"
I pushed him aside, grabbed the mouse, and clicked the audio file.
The static filled the room.
Then, my father's voice pleading.
Then, the crash.
And finally, Harper and Davis discussing the murder.
The recording played over the massive gymnasium speakers, loud and undeniable.
The silence that followed was heavier than the cafeteria had ever been.
Every single person in the room stared at Marcus Harper.
Harper looked at the crowd. He looked at his daughter, who was sobbing on the bleachers.
Then he looked at me.
And he started to laugh.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
"A very clever deepfake, Emma," Harper said loudly, regaining his composure. "But I have the original, notarized document right here. Signed by your mother. Relinquishing all rights and acknowledging the accident was your father's fault due to intoxication."
He held it up for the crowd to see.
"She signed it the day after he died to avoid a lawsuit," Harper lied smoothly.
May you like
My stomach plummeted.
If my mother signed that, the recording meant nothing.
