Chapter 13 - The Confession Broadcasted to the World
The digital screens in the Zenith Foundation’s grand ballroom flickered to life simultaneously, broadcasting a live, high-definition feed straight from the rooftop helipad.
Every wealthy donor, federal investigator, and news reporter who had gathered for the emergency press conference watched in stunned silence.
My father stood tall beside my mother and me, holding the stolen ledger while the two mercenaries were cuffed and led away by federal marshals.
Arthur Sterling, now conscious and flanked by federal agents, was pushed into the camera’s frame, his face pale and defeated under the glaring studio lights.
"Tell them, Arthur," my father commanded, his voice echoing through the massive ballroom audio system across the city.
"Tell them how you embezzled forty million dollars from pediatric research and framed my family to cover your tracks."
Arthur looked directly into the camera lens, his shoulders slumping in total defeat as the weight of a thousand crimes finally crushed him.
"I did it," Arthur whispered, the microphone picking up every trembling word.
"I manipulated the board, I used Beverly Vance as a pawn, and I tried to destroy the Vance family to steal the foundation's global assets."
A collective gasp rippled through the ballroom guests, many of whom had blindly trusted Arthur for decades.
The federal prosecutor stepped up to the podium on the ballroom stage, looking directly at the camera feed.
"With this confession and the recovered digital ledgers, all charges against Julian and Maya Vance are hereby dropped with full apologies from the federal government," the prosecutor announced.
As the live feed cut back to the studio, I looked at my mother and father, realizing the nightmare was finally over.
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Yet, as the crowd began to applaud, a strange message flashed silently across my personal smartphone in my pocket, warning me that one final transaction was still pending.
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