PART 4: THE GRANDMASTER'S CHECKS
Sebastian slowly raised his hands, the phone still clenched in his right palm.
“You’re a monster, Arthur,” Sebastian said, his voice echoing in the sterile room. “Both of you.”
Elena laughed, a manic, high-pitched sound. “We are survivors, Sebastian! You were a nobody until we plucked you out of poverty. You think you can destroy us with a few files?”
“I don't need to destroy your empire, Elena,” Sebastian said, his thumb subtly hovering over the screen of his phone. “I just need to broadcast it.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. “The signal in this basement is jammed, you fool. Your phone can’t transmit anything.”
“You’re right,” Sebastian smiled, a dangerous, feral grin. “The cellular network is jammed. But your house runs on a local intranet server that I built.”
Sebastian pressed his thumb down hard on the screen.
Suddenly, from upstairs, a strange sound began to echo.
It wasn't jazz music anymore.
It was audio. Loud, distorted, but crystal clear.
It was the sound of a little girl crying.
“Please, Grandpa, it hurts… Mom, please stop, don’t hold me down…”
Elena’s face drained of color instantly. “What… what is that?”
“I just uploaded the flash drive data to the main media server,” Sebastian said, his voice dripping with icy satisfaction. “Right now, every smart TV in this mansion, every speaker in the ballroom, and every guest's phone connected to the guest Wi-Fi is playing the recordings of what you did to Chloe.”
Arthur’s calm demeanor shattered. “Shut it off! Shut it off now!” he roared at his guards.
The guards hesitated, looking at each other, horrified by the audio blasting through the house.
From upstairs, screams of shock and outrage from the guests began to echo down the stairwell. The town's elite were witnessing the true face of Arthur Sterling.
In a fit of panic, Arthur aimed the gun at Sebastian and pulled the trigger.
Thwip.
The bullet tore through Sebastian’s shoulder. He spun around, crashing into the desk, blood spraying onto the leather bound books.
But he didn't drop the phone.
“It’s a live cloud broadcast, Arthur,” Sebastian gasped, clutching his bleeding shoulder, the pain blinding him. “Kill me, and it automatically forwards to the FBI field office in Hartford. It’s already too late.”
Elena looked out the basement window that faced the front driveway.
Flashing blue and red lights were already spinning against the concrete.
Someone at the party had called the police within seconds of the video broadcasting.
“Dad… we have to go. We have to get to the chopper,” Elena panicked, grabbing Arthur’s arm.
But Arthur looked like a man who had just watched his kingdom burn to ash. His eyes were wide, vacant, and ruined.
The heavy thud of tactical boots echoed from the upper floors.
“FBI! Nobody move!” voices shouted from above.
Sebastian, weak from blood loss, dragged himself toward the back exit of the study, slipping into the hidden hallway where Chloe was waiting.
He found her huddled in the dark, tears streaming down her face.
“Daddy! You’re bleeding!” she cried.
Sebastian collapsed next to her, pulling her into his uninjured arm, wrapping her in his blood-stained tuxedo jacket.
May you like
“It’s over, Peanut,” Sebastian whispered, his vision beginning to fade as the sound of sirens and breaking doors filled the Sterling mansion. “They can never hurt you again.”
Through the darkness of the corridor, the flashing police lights cut through the shadows, finally bringing the dawn to a long, horrific night.
