Chapter 5
When I got home, I saved the recording onto a thumb drive. Just then, I saw a familiar car pull into the driveway.
It was Vaughn Sterling.
He actually brought the trophies.
I didn’t go downstairs. I sent Vaughn a message saying I was at my grandmother’s house.
Once he left, I gathered those dozens of trophies and set them on fire.
Different sizes, different events-all those glistening honors were slowly swallowed by the flames, turning black and warping.
Thirty minutes later, those proud achievements had been reduced to a pile of charred scrap, just like my oil paintings.
I packed the blackened remains into the box with the other gifts I was returning. I would mail them all out together soon.
The next day, I went to Vaughn’s house, claiming I had left something behind during my last visit.
I’m almost home. Go ahead and head inside,” Vaughn said over the phone. I could hear a girl’s voice in the background; it was learly Corliss Mercer.
Okay.” I already knew the passcode to his front door.
I went straight to Vaughn’s bedroom, opened his laptop, and found the folder on the C drive. I deleted every single video of us and eplaced them with the recording I’d made at the hospital.
As I was about to shut down the computer, I accidentally clicked on a browser window.
t was a Twitter profile. There was no profile picture, and the display name was User 709468.
An hour ago, this account had posted a “leak”:
Reporting Arthur Vance, Vice President of Everett General Hospital, for abuse of power and malpractice. Three years ago, he nanipulated the system to give a donor heart intended for another patient to his own son, who suffered from heart disease.]
Attached were several photos claimed to be hard evidence.
t was alleged that a patient surnamed Mercer was admitted before Arthur Vance’s son, the surgery was scheduled, and Rowan Vance hijacked the organ at the last minute.
There were also photos of Arthur eating at dinners, meeting privately with different patients’ families, and allegedly accepting nassive kickbacks.
My scalp prickled as I stared at the screen. My stomach dropped.
Vaughn was using an anonymous account to report my father!
The post already had over ten thousand retweets and comments. The engagement was skyrocketing, and it had already hit number one on the trending topics.
The comments were vile, filled with personal attacks and death threats.
couldn’t look anymore.
ust then, my phone rang. It was my brother.
Elara, have you seen the news on Twitter?” Rowan Vance’s voice was thick with fury. “It’s all lies. I didn’t steal anyone’s heart, and Dad never did anything wrong.”
Of course I believed my family.
Ten years ago, when Grandpa was in critical condition, the medical staff was spread thin. Another patient had been brought in only thirty seconds after Grandpa, but my father chose to save the younger man first.
16.06
< Chapter 5
Grandpa passed away, and Dad knelt in the funeral hall for three days and nights.
I refused to believe a man like that would ever do what the post claimed.
Footsteps sounded downstairs. I slammed the laptop shut and walked to the door.
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Did you find your stuff?” Vaughn asked as he walked in. “By the way, I just saw the news about your dad online. What’s going on?”
I stared at his innocent act, struggling to keep my emotions in check. “My dad isn’t that kind of person.”
Without another word, I pushed past him and left.
When I reached my house, several police cars were parked out front.
Two officers were escorting my father toward a cruiser. The public outcry is too large. We need you to come in for questioning mmediately.”
I could only watch as the police car drove away, leaving us in its wake.
By evening, my father was allowed to return home.
However, a mob had already gathered outside the Vance family estate.
The front gates were covered in filth, pelted with eggs and manure. People were screaming that Arthur Vance was a murderer who belonged in hell.
Protesters held up banners, blaming my father for the deaths of their own loved ones who had passed away years ago. They claimed he had taken bribes from wealthy patients, leaving ordinary families to die.
The rumors online grew more extreme by the hour. Someone splashed animal blood across our yard. The chanting and cursing didn’t stop all night.
I looked at my father. In just one night, half his hair had turned white. It felt like a knife was being twisted in my heart.
During the chaos, I received a text from Vaughn. He asked if I needed help and offered to take me away to hide for a few days.
I didn’t reply.
I only felt a chilling sense of horror. How could someone stab me in the back so ruthlessly while pretending to care for me on the surface?
‘Dad, let me handle this,” Rowan said as he rushed through the door, his suit covered in grime from the protesters outside.
My father shook his head. “None of you interfere. I’ll settle this myself.”
I watched as my father drove out of the gates, the crowd chasing his car and screaming obscenities.
Half an hour later, I saw my mother, Evelyn Vance, turn pale. Her phone slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
‘Mom! What happened?” Rowan rushed to her side.
I picked up the phone. There was a message from my father:
Evelyn, take care of the children. I’m sorry I have to make this choice, but if this is what it takes to bring peace back to your lives, I have no regrets.
My mind went blank. Then, a notification popped up at the top of the screen:
[Breaking: Arthur Vance, Vice President of Everett General Hospital, lept to his death to prove his innocence!]
My hands shook as I clicked the link. The scene was blocked off by police tape. I saw the black body bag being loaded into a van.
The news article included a photo of the suicide note he had left behind.
[I, Arthur Vance, have lived a life of integrity. I have never done anything to violate my conscience. I hope that in death, my name will be cleared.]
16:26
< Chapter 5
No… no…
My vision blurred with tears. My ears rang with a deafening buzz.
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By the time we reached the funeral home, my father was cold and grey, lying motionless in a casket.
Dad! Dad, don’t scare me like this… please wake up…” I collapsed over him, my tears flowing uncontrollably.
wailed until my lungs burned, watching as they took him away to be cremated.
When Rowan walked out holding the urn, his eyes were burning with hatred. “I will make the person who started those rumors
Day.”
We went to the cemetery together. As we laid him to rest, the reality finally hit me.
I didn’t have a father anymore.
I would never see him again.
When I returned home, Vaughn was standing at the gate.
I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said softly. “School starts tomorrow. Your father would have wanted you to continue your studies and nove on from this shadow as soon as possible.”
He stepped forward to hug me, stroking my hair gently. “I’ll come pick you up first thing tomorrow morning.”
My eyes were like ice. I pushed him away and went inside without a word.
I opened my phone and searched for Vaughn’s secret account. He had posted something new.
User 709468: [The results of the police investigation aren’t even out yet. Why would Vice President Vance commit suicide unless he was running from his guilt?]
I dug my nails into my palms until they drew blood.
I deleted every way to contact Vaughn and threw my SIM card in the trash.
Let’s go,” Rowan said, picking up my suitcase. His eyes were bloodshot. “We can come back to visit his grave later.”
‘Okay,” I nodded.
As the car pulled into the airport, I prepared to turn off my phone for the flight. At that exact moment, an official police bulletin was released.
Following a thorough investigation, Arthur Vance has been cleared of all charges of corruption and medical malpractice.
The heart transplant involving “Ms. Mercer” was canceled because the deceased donor’s family revoked their consent at the last
minute.
The heart transplanted into Mr. Vance’s son came from an entirely different deceased donor.
The photos circulating online regarding kickbacks and bribes were determined to be personal photos from a private family gathering.]
In an instant, the tide of public opinion flipped.
