Camera angle.
I smiled.
Found you.
Jason watched silently.
“What are you doing?”
My fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.
“Finding the original recording.”
A pause.
“And the surrounding cameras.”
His eyes widened.
“Oh.”
Five minutes.
That was all it took.
The hotel’s archived security network appeared on my screen.
Several feeds loaded.
Hallways.
Elevators.
Lobby cameras.
Then I found it.
The hallway camera.
The one conveniently left out of the edited footage.
I burst out laughing.
The Vincents were getting lazy.
“What?”
I rotated the screen toward Jason.
His eyes widened.
Then he started laughing too.
The original footage played.
།
+15 Benus
5/9
Eleanor dragged him into the room.
door closed.
One second.
Two seconds.
The door exploded open again.
Literally exploded.
Eleanor stumbled backward into the hallway.
Jason appeared behind her.
Very drunk.
Very angry.
And very determined.
The younger version of Jason pointed toward the elevator.
Eleanor attempted to approach him again.
Jason physically turned her around.
And shoved her toward the elevator.
The door closed.
The entire interaction lasted less than ten seconds.
Ten.
I looked at Jason.
“You really kicked out a Vincent princess in under ten seconds.”
He looked offended.
“Probably faster.”
That made me laugh again.
Then I stood.
“Come on.”
Jason smiled.
“Where are we going?”
I grabbed the laptop.
“Back to the ballroom.”
The moment we entered, hundreds of eyes turned toward us.
+15 8cnus
6/9
105
The giant screen still displayed the edited footage.
Perfect.
I walked directly onto the stage.
Ignoring the shocked organizers.
Ignoring the reporters.
Ignoring the whispers.
Then I connected my laptop to the system.
The screen flickered.
And the original footage appeared.
The ballroom immediately fell silent.
“Since someone was kind enough to share a video,” I said into the microphone.
My voice echoed through the room.
“I thought everyone deserved to see the entire thing.”
The original recording began playing.
The audience watched.
Eleanor dragged Jason down the hallway.
The hotel room door opened.
The two entered.
One second passed.
Two seconds.
The door burst open again.
Eleanor stumbled backward.
Jason followed.
Clearly intoxicated.
Barely steady on his feet.
Yet still determined.
The younger Jason pointed toward the elevator.
Eleanor attempted to approach him again.
Jason physically turned her around and pushed her toward the elevator.
The ballroom remained completely silent.
7/9
I paused the video.
Then looked directly at the audience.
“If someone is so intoxicated that they cannot even stand properly…”
A pause.
“That is not consent.”
The silence became heavier.
Several people shifted uncomfortably.
I turned toward Jason.
For a brief moment he looked stunned.
Then I smiled.
“Thank you.”
His eyes widened.
I continued.
“I am proud of you.”
The room froze.
“Because despite how drunk you were…”
A pause.
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