The silence in the grand ballroom was deafening as the video loop finished playing. Every single person in the room had just seen the undeniable truth on the bright screen. Lily had never touched him. She hadn't even looked at his table. Arthur stood frozen in place, his face turning from bright red to an embarrassing pale white as he stared at the tablet screen. The very watch he had accused an eight-year-old girl of stealing was sitting snug inside his own chair the entire time. A quiet murmur began to ripple through the crowd of guests, quickly growing into audible whispers of disgust directed straight at the wealthy developer.
Mr. Henderson walked over to Arthur's chair, reached his hand deep down into the crevice between the leather cushions, and pulled out the gleaming gold watch. He held it up high for the entire room to see before turning back to Arthur with a cold, professional glare.
Mr. Henderson: Here is your watch, Mr. Pendelton. It appears it never left your chair.
Arthur: I... well... it was an honest mistake! The girl was moving around so close, I thought—
Mother: You called an eight-year-old child a thief because you were too careless to keep track of your own belongings!
Arthur: Listen here, lady, I donate millions to this city! You can't speak to me like that!
Mother: I don't care how much money you have in your bank account. You do not get to humiliate a child to cover up your own stupidity!
The crowd, which had previously stayed silent, suddenly broke into loud applause. A prominent woman from the hospital board stepped forward, glaring at Arthur with disgust. She declared that the hospital board would no longer accept any donations or business partnerships from Arthur's firm after witnessing his appalling behavior toward a child and her mother. Other guests nodded in firm agreement, turning their backs on the embarrassed businessman.
Arthur looked around the room, realizing that his powerful reputation had been completely destroyed in a single evening. His own legal team looked away in shame, refusing to meet his eyes. Seeing that he had lost all control of the room, Arthur grabbed his watch from Mr. Henderson's hand, turned on his heel, and stormed toward the exit doors as fast as his feet could carry him. Laughter and hushed mockery followed him all the way down the hallway until the heavy wooden doors slammed shut behind him.