Chapter 6 - The Recording Plays
The high-definition video opened with a wide, crystal-clear view of my garden.
The ancient oak tree was bright with morning sunlight. The red geraniums sat in their terracotta pots. In the center of the frame, I stood wearing my linen trousers, listening quietly as Bianca marched into the garden flanked by her stylists and photographers.
The audio was so clear that every whisper, every rustle of leaves, and every word bounced off the terrace walls of the penthouse.
“It is your bridal-family makeover,” Bianca’s voice boomed from the speakers.
“I don’t need a makeover,” my voice replied calmly on the screen. “I already purchased a dress for the ceremony.”
“That blue dress looks like something from another decade,” Bianca sneered on video. “The wedding photographs are going to appear in several business publications. Everett’s investors will be there. You cannot look outdated beside my family.”
On the terrace, several investors exchanged shocked, disgusted looks. Harrison Langley cleared his throat awkwardly, looking down at his shoes. Victoria Langley’s mouth hung wide open.
The video continued playing.
The crowd watched as Bianca stepped closer to me, her face on the high-definition screen twisted into a grotesque mask of arrogance and hatred.
“You old-fashioned woman. Everett will never believe you are being reasonable,” Bianca’s voice echoed.
Then came the climax of the footage.
The high-definition camera captured the exact moment Bianca reached out, snatched my silver braid, and yanked it with cruel force. On the seventy-inch screen, everyone watched me lose my balance, stumble violently backward, and crash into the wrought-iron bench while the ceramic pot shattered across my legs.
The audio caught the sickening crack of the clay, followed by Bianca’s cold, mocking laughter:
“Look at the scene you’re making. You broke your own garden pot just to be dramatic. Get up off the bench, Helen. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
The video paused on a freeze-frame of Bianca standing over me with an expression of pure, unadulterated malice while I cradled my bleeding knee amidst the dirt.
Silence descended upon the penthouse terrace—a thick, suffocating silence that felt heavier than lead.
Bianca stood near the marble pillar. Her body was shaking violently. Her crimson dress, which had looked so glamorous twenty minutes ago, now made her look like a villain caught under a spotlight.
Everett didn't scream. He didn't smash his glass.
He simply stood looking at the frozen image of his mother lying in the dirt, bruised and insulted, while the woman he was supposed to marry laughed at her.
Everett slowly turned his head to look at Bianca.
His eyes were dead.
"Everett..." Bianca whimpered, taking a tiny, trembling step toward him, tears now pouring down her cheeks—real tears of absolute panic. "Darling... please... she provoked me! She was ruining our wedding aesthetic! I did it for us! I did it for your image!"
"My image?" Everett whispered. His voice was so quiet the guests had to lean forward to hear him. "You put your hands on my mother."
"I... I was stressed!" she sobbed, reaching out blindly. "The wedding planning was so overwhelming! Your mother was being so resistant—"
"You grabbed her hair," Everett said, his voice rising slightly, carrying an icy edge that made Bianca flinch. "You shoved her into an iron bench. You broke an heirloom my father gave her. And then you stood in front of my board of directors and lied, claiming she had dementia so you could lock her in an asylum."
"Everett, let's discuss this privately!" Harrison Langley demanded, stepping between Everett and his daughter. "This is a private family matter! There's no need to ruin a business alliance over a minor domestic squabble—"
Everett turned on Harrison with such sudden, explosive fury that the older man took two fast steps back.
"Get out," Everett growled.
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"What?" Harrison blinked, stunned.
"Get off my property. All of you," Everett said, pointing a finger toward the private elevator. "The Langley family is done here. The wedding is canceled."
