Chapter 3: The Setup Exposed
All eyes slowly turned to Eleanor, whose mouth was hanging open in sheer horror. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the soft, rhythmic hum of the air conditioning.
"Eleanor," Evelyn said, her voice dripping with dangerous calm. "I suggest you check your purse."
Trembling visibly, Eleanor fumbled with the clasp of her designer clutch. She opened it, peeling back the silk lining. There, glinting innocently under the ballroom chandeliers, was the Starlight Diamond brooch. She dropped the bag as if it were on fire, the clutch hitting the floor with a heavy thud, spilling lipstick, a compact mirror, and the two-million-dollar diamond onto the marble.
"Julian..." Eleanor whispered, her voice cracking as she stared at her son in betrayal. "Why?"
"It's a deepfake!" Julian panicked, taking a step back as the crowd began to loudly whisper and point. "She owns the hotel! She had her IT people alter the footage in real-time! It's a setup!"
"You slipped the brooch into your mother's bag to frame my daughter for a felony," Evelyn said, ignoring his pathetic excuses. "You knew that if a six-year-old was caught with stolen property, child protective services would be called. You would use the scandal to prove I was an unfit mother, drag me back into court, and try to extort me for custody to get access to my assets. You finally figured out who bought the Belmont, didn't you, Julian?"
Julian's silence was all the confirmation the room needed. His jaw tightened, his eyes darting toward the locked exit doors.
"You are a monster," Eleanor hissed at her son, finally realizing the depths of his depravity. "You would ruin this family's reputation just to extort your ex-wife?"
"Oh, Eleanor, don't play the saint," Evelyn scoffed, her gaze shifting to the older woman. "You knew he was bleeding the charity dry. Where do you think the funds for this gala actually went? I’ve had forensic accountants looking into the 'Hope Foundation' for six months. The Starlight Diamond isn't even a real diamond. It's a cubic zirconia replica."
The crowd gasped again. Several wealthy donors who had bid on items earlier in the night began shouting angrily.
"That's a lie!" Julian roared, lunging toward Evelyn again.
Before he could take two steps, Roberts and the other security guards tackled him to the floor, pinning his arms behind his back.
"The police are already on their way, Mr. Sterling?" Evelyn asked the manager without looking away from Julian.
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"Yes, Miss Thorne. They are pulling up to the valet as we speak," Sterling confirmed, looking at Julian with utter disgust.
Evelyn reached down and scooped Lily up into her arms, holding her tightly. She kissed her daughter's cheek. "It's okay, sweetheart. The bad men can't hurt us anymore."
