Chapter 14 - The Voice That Wasn't Hers
Elena knew the scream.
It sounded exactly like her.
Marcus did too.
"That's fake," he said.
Victoria tilted her head. "Is it?"
More audio poured from the speakers: Elena sobbing, threatening Marcus, saying she wished the baby were gone.
Elena's stomach twisted.
"You made those recordings."
"Technology made them. I simply provided enough samples of your voice."
Marcus stared at his mother. "You planned to use deepfakes in court?"
"Court is a theater. People believe what fits the story they already accepted."
Elena realized the scale of it. The psychiatric form. The key in her pocket. The staged red dress. The hallucinations. Each piece supported the next.
"You didn't want me crazy," Elena said. "You wanted witnesses to think I was crazy."
"The distinction is academic."
Marcus lunged for her phone.
Victoria stepped back and pressed a button.
A hidden panel opened in the wall. Two security men entered.
Not estate guards Marcus recognized.
"You hired them," he said.
"I hire everyone eventually."
One man grabbed Marcus. The other moved toward Elena.
She smashed a teacup into his face.
Porcelain burst. He cursed and stumbled.
For one wild second the scene matched her first hallucination so perfectly that Elena froze.
Broken pieces. Red dress. Marcus shouting.
Victoria saw it happen.
"There," she whispered. "That's the doorway. Walk through it."
Elena's vision pulsed. Victoria seemed to split into two women, then three.
"Evidence," Marcus shouted while struggling with the guard. "Elena! Evidence first!"
Elena looked at the floor.
Real broken porcelain.
Real blood on the guard's cheek.
Real chair under her hand.
She swung it into his knees.
He dropped.
Marcus drove an elbow into the other guard and broke free.
They ran toward the kitchen.
Victoria did not chase them.
She only called after Elena, "Ask Marcus what he put in your tea the first month."
Elena stopped.
Marcus stopped too.
That was all Victoria needed.
The kitchen door slammed between them.
Elena was trapped on one side.
May you like
Marcus on the other.
And behind Elena, slow footsteps crossed the dining room.
