Chapter 7 - The Live Expose
At 2:00 p.m., the main foyer of Westbrook Manor was transformed into a high-tech media briefing room. Arthur’s team had bypassed the corrupt local networks, broadcasting directly to federal news outlets and live-streaming platforms across the country. Over four million people tuned in within the first ten minutes, drawn by the explosive scandal surrounding the missing Westbrook heir.
I stood in front of the camera, wearing a simple, professional navy blazer. Noah stood right beside me, holding his drawing notebook.
"My name is Emily Carter," I said clearly, looking directly into the camera lens, knowing my mother was watching somewhere. "For the past forty-eight hours, my parents and Councilman Thomas Westbrook have used the media to paint me as an unstable criminal. They claim I adopted Noah for financial gain. But the truth is much simpler, and much more terrifying."
I held up the encrypted flash drive Noah had found behind the painting. "This drive contains the complete financial ledger of the Westbrook Group, detailing over fifty million dollars in embezzlement by Councilman Thomas Westbrook. It also includes the audit logs managed by my father’s firm, Harrison Accounting, proving their direct complicity in covering up the theft of Noah’s birthright."
The live chat on the stream exploded with thousands of messages a second.
"Noah didn't lose his family to a random accident," I continued, my voice gaining strength. "He was hunted out of his own home. And my parents didn't disown me because they cared about my well-being; they did it because they were paid to keep this little boy in the dark. But Noah is not silent anymore."
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Noah stepped forward, looking right into the lens. He didn't speak a word, but he opened his notebook and began flipping through the pages—showing the meticulous chronological drawings of the night of the car crash, the face of the man who had tampered with the engine, and finally, a drawing of Councilman Westbrook signing a check to my father.
The evidence was visual, unassailable, and completely devastating.
