Except that when he finished speaking everyone wasn’t looking at him but instead was looking at the large screen behind him.
Suddenly, a reporter stood up, pointed towards Robert, and shouted, “You liar!”
Robert stopped speaking and felt that something was amiss. He turned around only to see that the video on the screen had been changed by someone!
In the video, it showed pictures of Robert stepping onto the kids’ hands in despise and he was sitting in the car eating a sumptuous take-out meal while the village kids were cooking vegetable soup on the freezing floor. The receipts of the foundation showed that ninety percent of all the donations went to his account.
“Turn it off!” Robert yelled at the manager below the stage. He panicked. He had never been so frightened.
“I… I can’t turn it off!” The manager was already perspiring profusely, “The system had been hacked!”
“What? You useless scum! Can’t you pull the electrical plug?” Robert pointed to his nose and almost broadcast what he said over the audio system.
That man hurried away to do as he was told.
“Robert! Are those pictures real? We need you to explain yourself!”
“Yes! Explain yourself to everyone!”
Robert’s clothes were drenched in cold sweat as he was questioned by the reporters. He acted as if nothing was wrong, “Everyone, everyone, listen to me!”
“Our system had been hacked by someone who wanted to frame me. The pictures in this video are all fake! It had been fabricated by someone to harm me.”
Aubree saw that the people around her became worked up but she was indifferent about it. Sidney had told her in the past that she shouldn’t judge a person on its surface. That was why she wasn’t that surprised.
She sat quietly and looked at the ongoing show and felt that it was rather entertaining.
The pictures on the large screen were no longer being displayed and the screen was blank. The people below the stage stopped shouting and continued to stare at the screen worried that they’ll miss out on something.
Suddenly! A raunchy photo of Robert and the daughter of the Wilson family was displayed! Along with a paternity certificate! There was a loud commotion and everyone looked towards the stage.
Aubree looked at the paternity certificate on the screen and unconsciously stood up while her hand started to tremble. Why was her name on the certificate?
Aubree stared at the screen and struggled to get a hold of her numbed feelings and tried her best to think of some information to prove that the certificate wasn’t referring to her. She forced herself not to believe what was displayed on the screen.
Suddenly all the lights went out and the place was plunged into darkness. A bright spotlight shone ruthlessly onto Aubree’s face. The coldness of the moment made her struggle to breathe.
Everyone looked at her and the entire hall fell silent. Aubree could hear her own heartbeat, thumping and thumping. It was like a hammer of thorns pounding on her heart and the seeping blood was like thousands of ants crawling through her cells and her pain hurt to the bone. It was a fate worse than death.
Aubree controlled her eyes not allowing a tear to fall and then ran out of the place. She simply wanted to get away from that place as soon as possible.
Outside the hall, Steward Martin silently turned off the screen inside the car and sighed regretfully. “Let’s go.” Steward Martin said to the driver as he sat on the front passenger seat, and didn’t dare to look at Sidney.
As the car drove by the convention center entrance, Aubree suddenly dashed out! The car braked but hit Aubree!
Aubree stood up from the fall and saw that the car belonged to Sidney!
“Uncle Sidney… Uncle Sidney!” Aubree rushed over and pounded frantically at Sidney’s window!
She was scared, terrified, mortified to see the people behind her!
Her cheeks were soaked with tears like a dam had broken. She didn’t believe what just happened! She didn’t believe it!