The entire ballroom fell into a heavy, stunning silence.
No one dared to move or make a single sound.
Victoria stood rigid, her face turning pale white with embarrassment.
Her mother grabbed Julian's arm in a desperate attempt to stop him.
"You are making a huge mistake, young man!" Mrs. Sterling yelled.
"The Sterling family controls half the real estate in this city!"
Julian shook her hand off his coat with complete disgust.
"Your daughter is a monster behind closed doors," Julian declared loudly.
He pulled out his smartphone and tapped the screen twice.
He connected his phone directly to the large video screens on the wall.
The screens had been set up to display engagement photos all night.
Instead, a security video from two weeks ago began to play.
The footage showed Victoria inside the estate kitchen last month.
She was seen slapping an elderly chef across his face in anger.
Then she poured a bowl of hot soup onto the kitchen floor.
The crowd gasped in horror as the video played in full high definition.
Victoria covered her mouth as tears of shame filled her eyes.
She realized that Julian had been gathering evidence for weeks.
He had already suspected her sweet act was completely fake.
Tonight had simply been the final straw for his patience.
Elena stood beside the security guard, watching the screens in amazement.
She had lived in fear of Victoria for several dark months.
Every staff member had kept quiet out of fear of losing their jobs.
Now the entire city's upper class saw the awful truth.
Victoria turned to the crowd and tried to explain herself quickly.
"This video is fake!" Victoria screamed, her voice cracking up.
"He edited the footage to humiliate my family in public!"
Julian walked over to the main microphone on the small stage.
He cleared his throat, and his voice echoed across the room.
"Effective immediately, Vance Enterprises cuts all ties with the Sterlings."
"We are calling in every outstanding loan and mortgage owed to us."
Mrs. Sterling nearly fainted on the marble floor right there.
Their entire real estate empire depended on Vance family bank loans.
Without those funds, the Sterling family faced instant bankruptcy.
Victoria looked at the guests who used to praise her every day.
Now they turned their heads away from her in absolute disgust.
She felt completely exposed, alone, and ruined in a single hour.