Part 6: The Ten Slaps of Justice
I turned back to face the real Vanessa Vale. The arrogance had completely drained from her posture. She was no longer red with anger; she was pale with a deep, paralyzing fear.
"There are nine additional clips," I told her.
"Nine?" she whispered, her knees visibly trembling.
"Clip two shows Judge Pike receiving a modified scoring matrix from your personal assistant prior to Grace’s interview round. Clip three shows Madison Greer’s mother handing your treasurer an envelope marked 'hospitality expenses' at the resort lounge. Clip four shows Sloane Hartwell being handed the final onstage question twenty-four hours in advance."
The younger judge on the panel instantly burst into tears, covering her face.
Vanessa took a shaky breath, trying to deploy the last weapon wealthy people have: unearned charm. "Mr. Rowe... surely we can settle this matter privately in an office. This poor girl has been through enough stress. A massive public scene helps absolutely no one."
I looked at her with total disdain.
"You wanted witnesses, Vanessa. You made sure she was degraded where people could see it. So the correction will happen exactly where people can see it, too."
I turned to Elliot. "Switch the main arena broadcast feed to the archive clip. Now."
Vanessa screamed, but it was drowned out by the sudden, massive roar from the main showroom. Ten thousand people in the audience, along with millions watching the live stream, saw the footage of the chairperson striking an orphan contestant play on the massive stadium screens. The crowd's reaction was a physical wave of noise—gasps of horror followed by a wall of righteous fury.
"Shame on you!" voices screamed from the front rows. "Bring Grace out! Let her stand!"
I turned back to the folder, nodding to my legal counsel to read the structural termination of Vanessa Vale's entire existence.
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The Master Compliance Breach Notice
CountInfraction TypeImmediate Action Taken1Leadership ForfeitureImmediate, permanent removal of Vanessa Vale as Committee Chairwoman.2Funding TerminationComplete withdrawal of all Rowe Dominion Media financial backing.3Breach of ContractActivation of the multi-million-dollar corporate liquidated damages clause.4Criminal FraudImmediate referral of the altered scoring sheets to state authorities.5Safety ViolationPermanent blacklisting of Madison Greer and Sloane Hartwell from all national events.6Evidence SeizurePreservation order served on all local hard drives and committee cell phones.7Judicial MisconductRemoval of Judge Martin Pike and formal referral to the ethics board.8Financial AuditForensic tracking initiated on the "hospitality fund" banking records.9Civil TortFiling of a massive civil claim for severe emotional distress on behalf of Grace.10Criminal AssaultOn-site handoff of Vanessa Vale to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
With every single item read aloud, Vanessa seemed to physically shrink, her ex
