Chapter 7 - The Gala Override
Caleb stared at the bloody note, his entire world crashing down around him.
He immediately called Marcus, who arrived at the destroyed house within minutes.
"They crossed the ultimate line," Marcus growled, loading a heavy hunting rifle from his truck.
"We have to give them the ledger to save Mom and Dad," Caleb argued, panicking.
"If we give them the only physical proof, they will kill us all anyway," Marcus countered logically.
Caleb knew his brother was right; they needed to execute the plan while securing their parents.
Chloe arrived with the encrypted USB drive containing the digitized version of the ledger.
"I will hijack the AV booth at the gala, and you two go to the boiler room to save your parents," Chloe suggested bravely.
Caleb refused to let Chloe take the risk alone, so they finalized a desperate, synchronized plan.
That evening, the Founders' Day Gala was packed with wealthy alumni, politicians, and the corrupt school board.
Caleb slipped into the building wearing a stolen catering uniform, blending in with the serving staff.
He carried a tray of champagne glasses, making his way slowly toward the elevated audiovisual booth.
He knocked out the lone technician with a swift punch and locked the heavy metal door.
Caleb plugged Chloe's USB drive into the main server, watching the upload progress bar fill the screen.
Down in the main hall, Principal Davis stepped up to the podium to deliver his keynote address.
"We pride ourselves on integrity, honor, and excellence," the principal lied smoothly to the crowd.
Caleb hit the execution key, overriding the main projector and the massive side monitors.
The screens flickered, cutting off the principal's carefully prepared slideshow.
But instead of displaying the scanned pages of the blackmail ledger, the screens showed something entirely different.
It was a live, high-definition video feed from the school's dark boiler room.
Marcus was shown tied to a chair, bleeding heavily from a severe head wound.
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Mr. Harrison stood behind him, looking directly into the camera with a psychotic smile.
"I think you brought the wrong flash drive to the party, Caleb," Harrison's voice echoed through the gala speakers.
