Chapter 1: The Silent Witnesses
The hall stayed silent.
No one clapped.
No one moved.
Ana lowered her hand slowly.
Lucy stood in front of her with both cheeks burning red, her breathing uneven, her pride barely holding her upright.
Twenty slaps.
Twenty sounds that had turned the room into a courtroom.
Everyone had seen it.
The guests.
The staff.
The cameras.
And most importantly…
The man standing at the top of the staircase.
Daniel Cross.
Lucy’s fiancé.
His face was pale.
“Ana…” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “What did you do?”
Ana didn’t look ashamed.
She turned toward him calmly.
“What I should have done three years ago.”
Lucy wiped the corner of her mouth with trembling fingers.
“You’re insane,” she hissed. “You attacked me in front of everyone.”
Ana smiled without warmth.
“No, Lucy. I exposed you in front of everyone.”
A low murmur moved through the crowd.
Daniel stepped down the stairs, confused and angry.
“Exposed what?”
Ana reached into her black clutch.
Lucy’s eyes changed instantly.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Ana,” Lucy warned. “Don’t.”
Ana pulled out a small silver flash drive.
The room froze again.
“This,” Ana said, holding it up, “is why you let me slap you twenty times without fighting back.”
Daniel stared at Lucy.
Lucy shook her head quickly.
“She’s lying.”
Ana laughed once.
Cold.
Sharp.
“Then let’s play it.”
A staff member rushed to the projector screen at the end of the hall. Within seconds, the lights dimmed.
Lucy stepped forward.
“No.”
Daniel grabbed her wrist.
“Why are you afraid?”
She looked at him.
And for the first time that night, she had no answer.
The video appeared.
Lucy was sitting in a private office.
Across from her was Ana’s former business partner, Victor Hale.
Lucy’s voice filled the hall.
“If Ana signs over her shares, Daniel will believe she betrayed him. Then I take her place.”
Gasps erupted.
Daniel’s hand dropped from Lucy’s wrist.
The video continued.
Victor smiled.
“And the accident?”
Lucy leaned back.
“Make it look like Ana was drunk. Destroy her reputation first. Then no one will believe anything she says.”
Daniel turned slowly.
His eyes were no longer confused.
They were dead.
“Lucy…”
Lucy backed away.
“That was edited.”
Ana stepped closer.
“No. The police already have the original.”
At that exact moment, two detectives entered the hall.
Lucy’s perfect face collapsed.
The witnesses finally understood.
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The slaps were not the scandal.
Lucy was.
