AllFreeNovel
Share Us
An inaudible laugh escapes me, watching him search about frantically, his exhales seething through clenched teeth, puffing out his cheeks. He makes for a wall outlet and strips the cord connected to the podium, plunging the conference room into a dreadfully painful silence.
Well, maybe only for himself.
Uncovering their ears, each board member stands like a mannequin in a shop window, not voicing a word. It's so quiet, one could hear a pen drop. In fact, I think I do. Somewhere outside, amid the impressive flock of employees huddled around the glass, peering into the fishbowl. Not even their lips move, plunging this entire company into a stunned limbo.
Perhaps, there's no reason to gossip. Everyone heard what they heard.
Warren Kingston. Their CEO and Founder.
Blackmailing an innocent woman.
"You little bitch. You better wipe that smile off your—"
"Ahh!" Across the room, Hayden doubles over in laughter, smacking the table. He stands beside Elias, who stares out into space and is the only person in the entire room sitting.
Warren whirls around. "Ohhhh, I bet you enjoyed that, didn't you?"
"You're right. I did." Hayden swipes at a tear, amidst his lingering chuckles. "I wish we'd caught it all on tape."
"Well, this is obviously a jab at my reputation," he says, not to Hayden but to his board, puffing his chest out, chin pointed high. "I have nothing to hide. The audio clip is clearly fake."
"Would you like me to play the full video?" I threaten, praying he'll say no. The audio was scarring enough.
Warren pauses, offering me a skeptical look, to which I raise an eyebrow. Try me. Straightening his tie, he ushers about the room, a politician campaigning for support.
"And what might that prove? Let me shed some light on the situation for all of you. This young woman—my youngest son's girlfriend—socially engineered her way to the top, gaining an audience with my board, just so she can humiliate me for her own gain. I have no doubt, the minute I adjourn this meeting, she'll be vying for a hefty check. Only then, she will admit to the video's false nature."
I shake my head, watching as he digs himself into a deeper hole. He rounds the table, addressing the other row of members, enunciating his words with the flick of his wrists.
"You see, in this day and age, artificial intelligence knows no bounds. Its capabilities surpass mere text and image generation, stretching into the troubling realms of video manipulation, taking the form of Deepfakes. Yes, I'm sure you've heard, anyone who possesses a speck of technical knowledge and a knack for evil can architect slanderous falsehoods by manipulating voices, even faces—"
"What about the woman in the video?" I interrupt, smirking when his back goes rigid. He swings around, composed, yet, even from across the room, I can still feel the heat of his lethal glare.
"What about her?"
Eyes slot onto me, suddenly flinging me onto center stage of a presidential debate—behind a podium, no less, with an audience fixed behind the confines of a glass wall, who I'm half-convinced deserves a bureaucratic wave. Instead, I square off my shoulders and address the members of the board, as they settle back into their seats, one after the other.
"It's true. Deepfakes are no secret and can prove dangerous in the wrong hands. Public figures—such as Warren, here—are the most likely victims of the crime, largely due to the vast amount of video footage available online, which provides ample data for A.I. learning algorithms..."
From the corner of my eye, I watch Warren's face sink deeper into despair with my every word. Poor guy, going toe-to-toe with me over such a subject. Over any technological topic, for that matter. Above the slump of his drooping shoulders, I catch Hayden's features glowing with pride as I continue.
"But the question still stands—what of the woman in the video? I can assure you, she's no household name and has lived a relatively simple life. There's no online data set on her, which would make fabricating her presence into the video all that more difficult. Furthermore, this woman could personally verify the authenticity of the footage, proving Warren's involvement."
All eyes drift onto Warren, including those behind the glass, awaiting his rebuttal. Although, he appears too dazed to make an attempt. Lips parted. Unblinking. Pale like a ghost. I mean, I don't blame him—even I surprised myself there.
"W-well..." He clears his throat, fumbling for control. "I don't see her here in this room, do you? Unless you're accusing my vice chairwoman or assistant treasurer of—"
"She's in the lobby." I hold up my phone, then bury my head, swiping past the lock screen. "Shall I call her up?" Met with no answer, I tap some more, humming. "Remind me, what floor are we on? Eighty-six?"
I wait... and wait...
"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!"
There it is.
Huffing and puffing, Warren storms around the room, aimlessly, left and right, back and forth, directing the attention of the crowd outside like a drunken conductor.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE SO CLEVER, HUH?!" he screams to no one in particular, sweat dripping off his brow. "WELL, GUESS WHAT? THIS BOARD ONLY CARES ABOUT MONEY! YOU THINK THEY GIVE TWO SHITS WHETHER OR NOT I FUCKED MY KID'S SLUTTY TEACHER?! I COULD'VE LINED HER UP WITH HER WHORE FRIENDS AND FUCKED EVERY ONE OF THEM, MARRIED OR NOT, AND THESE ASSHOLES WOULD STILL BE RIGHT HERE THE NEXT MORNING..."
