Chapter 1 - The Broadcast of Shame
Damian froze, his eyes locking onto the glowing screen of Serena’s discarded smartphone.
The red "LIVE" icon pulsated with a rhythmic, sickening heartbeat.
He didn't need to check the viewer count to know the damage was already done.
Thousands—maybe tens of thousands—of people had just watched his mother, a woman of refined elegance and charity, be systematically humiliated by a girl he had trusted with his heart.
He grabbed the phone, his fingers trembling as he tapped the screen to end the feed.
Comments were flooding in—some horrified, others mocking, and a few disturbingly gleeful.
Serena hadn't just assaulted his mother; she had broadcast Evelyn’s trauma to the entire world, framing it as a cruel social media stunt.
"How long?" Damian asked, his voice a low, guttural growl that didn't sound like his own.
He turned toward Serena, who was still standing by the patio doors, her face pale as she realized the potential legal firestorm she had invited.
"I... I just wanted people to see the truth," she stammered, though her voice lacked any real conviction.
"The truth, Serena?"
Damian walked toward her, the phone clenched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turned white.
"The truth is that you’ve spent six months isolating her, belittling her, and now this."
He held up the phone, the screen still displaying the final frames of the livestream—Evelyn’s tear-stained face, the jagged locks of hair on the patio stones, the absolute ruin of his mother's dignity.
"You’ve just invited the entire world to witness a crime," he continued, his tone dangerously controlled.
"And you’ve just ensured that you’ll never be able to hide from it."
He didn't wait for her response.
He called his head of security, his voice sharp and precise.
"Escort Serena Mercer off the property immediately. And ensure that she does not have access to any device that can transmit a signal."
"Damian, please," Serena pleaded, her mask of cold indifference fully dissolved into a mask of pathetic desperation.
"Don't do this."
"You did this to yourself," he said, turning his back on her to return to his mother.
He knelt again beside Evelyn, who was still shivering, her hand tracing the uneven edge of her hacked hair.
May you like
"It’s over," he whispered, placing his hand over hers.
But as the sirens of the approaching police cars began to wail in the distance, Damian realized that the real battle was only beginning.
