Chapter 4
"Dad... Uncle Sebastian..."
The fragile, trembling voice belonged to Noah. The eight-year-old boy was standing near the edge of the ruined festivity, his small hands gripping Ethan’s luxury smartphone tightly. His face was completely pale, his eyes darting frantically between his father’s terrified expression and Sebastian’s stony, lethal composure.
"Not now, Noah!" Ethan barked, not daring to take his eyes off Sebastian. Sweat was beginning to bead on Ethan's forehead, his chest heaving as the reality of his actions set in. He had just struck Sebastian Whitmore.
"But Dad..." Noah stammered, stepping forward slightly, holding the phone up higher. The screen was brilliantly illuminated, displaying a rapidly scrolling wall of text and a live view of the room. "You didn't turn it off."
Natalie whipped her head around, her elegant maternity dress swishing as a jolt of sheer panic pierced through her anger. "What are you talking about, Noah?"
Noah swallowed hard, tears welling in his eyes. He looked directly at his aunt, his voice cracking. "The broadcast, Aunt Natalie. The birthday livestream... it's still running."
Natalie and Ethan instantly froze as if they had been struck by lightning.
"What did you just say?" Victor demanded, his authoritative tone cracking for the first time. He rushed over to his grandson, peering down at the glowing screen.
"Uncle Sebastian... it recorded everything," Noah whispered, terrified. "The slap. The punch. Everything. There are... there are thousands of people watching."
The blood drained entirely from Natalie’s rosy cheeks, leaving her looking ghastly white. The pristine, highly curated public image she had spent years meticulously building as the perfect society wife and doting mother had just been shattered in high definition.
"Give me that!" Ethan lunged toward his son, his mind racing with desperation. "I told you to cut the feed when I handed it to you, you stupid kid!"
"You didn't tell me anything!" Noah cried out, shrinking away from his father's aggressive grasp.
"Don't yell at the boy for your incompetence, Ethan," Sebastian said, his voice slicing through the chaos like a newly sharpened blade. The corners of his mouth twitched upward into a terrifying, humorless smile. He hadn't moved an inch, his broad shoulders still acting as an impenetrable shield for Lily.
"Shut up, Sebastian!" Ethan roared, his panic transforming back into blind, reckless rage. "This is your fault! If you had just let Natalie discipline her kid, none of this would be happening! I have to delete the stream!"
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"You can't delete what's live, Ethan," Sebastian stated calmly, brushing an invisible speck of dust off his tailored black waistcoat. "The internet is forever. Your sister's true colors are finally on display for the world to see."
"I said shut up!" Ethan screamed. Driven completely over the edge by fear and humiliation, he abandoned his pursuit of the phone. Instead, he pivoted violently on his heel, clenching his fists, and threw his entire body weight into a second, desperate strike aimed directly at Sebastian’s throat.
