Maldo Fam

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Chapter 13

Shinobia froze when Bruce entered the room, his grave expression telegraphing bad news.

"What is it?" she asked hesitantly. In response, Bruce simply handed her his phone. Hands shaking, Shinobia pressed play on the video cued up.

The footage was grainy, obviously filmed covertly. But the scene was clearly recognizable - Maggie's office where she often berated Shinobia after perceived failures.

Shinobia's heart seized as onscreen Maggie slapped her hard across the face. "Worthless, useless thing!" the woman seethed as Shinobia collapsed. Bruce quickly paused it, but the damage was done. One of Maggie's rampages had been caught on camera.

"How did this get out?" Shinobia rasped, feeling ill. Their volatile confrontations had escalated lately, but Shinobia never imagined irrefutable evidence leaking.

"I don't know," Bruce said grimly. "But it's spreading online quickly. Mother is frantic trying to contain it."

Shinobia's head spun. Their facade of familial perfection carefully crafted for the public was shattered. For the first time, their painful reality had been exposed.

Soon Maggie herself burst in wild-eyed. "How could you let this happen?" she shrieked, spittle flying as she advanced on Shinobia. "Ungrateful wretch, you've destroyed everything!"

Shinobia staggered back, heart hammering with terror. A cornered Maggie was at her most dangerous. Bruce quickly intervened, diverting her rage as guards rushed to subdue her.

In the fraught aftermath, the family walked on eggshells awaiting Maggie's retaliation. But strangely, she reacted with eerie calm once her initial tantrum subsided.

"No matter. We'll simply gaslight the gullible masses," she said with a chilling smile. "They'll believe our excuses over their own eyes."

Sure enough, Maggie took to the Internet herself condemning the "deepfake video created by resentful trolls." Many supporters readily accepted her denials, unwilling to relinquish their rosy image.

"You see? Their loyalty remains firm," Maggie crowed. But Shinobia noticed skeptical comments persisting, an unraveling Maggie couldn't entirely reverse. For the first time, cracks were showing in her impenetrable facade.

Shinobia scarcely dared hope, but wondered - could this be the first gust in a gathering storm that might finally topple Maggie's empire of lies? She prayed the public's glimpsed truth could widen into a flood that might someday free them. But for now, with Maggie's grip tightening, it was enough that the foundation showed signs of cracks. The rest they could build on, given time.

***

"Sit up straight and look at the camera," Maggie ordered. Shinobia reluctantly obeyed, settling in front of the harsh lighting. At Maggie's cue, the camera began recording.

"Hi friends," Shinobia started awkwardly. "By now many of you have seen a disturbing video circulating online claiming to show my family."

She paused, stomach churning. Denying the truth filled her with shame, but she had no choice. Maggie had made the stakes clear - lie convincingly or else face unthinkable consequences.

"I wanted to tell you directly that this video is a malicious fake, created by trolls to harm us." The lies burned like bile. But Shinobia forced them out, having sworn to protect her family at all costs.

"The truth is we would never treat each other cruelly like that. Our home is full of mutual love and respect." Shinobia managed a feeble smile, imagining her grandfather and children depending on her performance.