Chapter 4 - The Deposition
Three weeks later, the formal depositions were held in a high-rise conference room in downtown Manhattan.
Outside the glass building, half a dozen local reporters and paparazzi sat waiting. The story had blossomed from a viral family feud into a national conversation about influencer ethics, family exploitation, and the dark underbelly of content creation.
I sat at the polished oak table beside Sarah Vance. I wore a dark navy tailored suit, my hair pulled back neatly, revealing the fine, dark pink scar running two inches across my left cheek.
Across the table sat Vanessa and Reid, flanked by two high-priced defense attorneys who looked thoroughly miserable.
Vanessa looked terrible. Her pristine, polished online persona had vanished. She wore minimal makeup, her eyes were dark and hollow, and her hands shook as she adjusted her designer handbag. Beside her, Reid sat with his arms crossed, staring defensively at the floor.
Elaine sat in the corner of the room as a non-party observer, her eyes burning holes into the side of my face.
"We are on the record," the court reporter announced, her fingers hovering over her stenography machine.
Sarah Vance leaned forward, placing a thick stack of printed documents on the table.
"State your name for the record," Sarah instructed Vanessa.
"Vanessa Bennett-Miller," my sister whispered.
"Miss Bennett-Miller," Sarah began, her tone razor-sharp. "On the morning of June 12th, did you or your husband purchase three boxes of floral corsage pins from the craft store in Hudson Valley?"
Vanessa’s lead attorney interjected immediately. "Objection as to form."
"Answer the question, Vanessa," Sarah pressed, ignoring the objection.
Vanessa swallowed hard, glancing at her mother in the corner. "Reid bought decorations for the photo backdrop."
"Did those decorations include six-inch steel pins with pearl heads?"
"I... I don't recall the exact dimensions," Vanessa stuttered.
Sarah smoothly pulled up a digital tablet and turned it toward Vanessa. On the screen was a bank receipt from Reid’s credit card, timestamped 8:14 AM on the morning of the wedding, listing two packs of steel corsage pins.
"Do you recognize this transaction?" Sarah asked.
"Reid handles the props," Vanessa snapped defensively. "I was busy getting ready to be a bride! I didn't inspect every single pin!"
"Fascinating," Sarah said calmly. She switched the screen to the raw video footage, zooming in on Vanessa’s hands beside the cake tier. "Then can you explain why, at precisely 7:42 PM, your fingers are clearly seen wrapping three steel pins inside a cluster of frosting before beckoning your sister over to the table?"
Vanessa froze.
Her eyes dilated in pure panic as she stared at the ultra-high-definition, slowed-down frame. The video clearly captured her manicured hand taking the pins from Reid, wrapping them into the thick cream frosting, and positioning the slice directly toward my face.
"I... I..." Vanessa stammered, her chest heaving as tears began to spill over her cheeks. "It wasn't supposed to cut her! It was supposed to just stick in her hair! It was supposed to look like a funny, messy disaster!"
"So you admit you intentionally placed sharp metal objects into the cake before pushing it into your sister's face?" Sarah demanded, leaning in.
"She was ruinning my aesthetic!" Vanessa suddenly screamed, slamming her hands onto the glass table, her composure shattering completely. "She showed up in that stupid dark green dress! She refused to smile in the group photos! She threatened to sue me over Lily’s video! She was ruining everything I worked so hard to build!"
The room fell completely silent.
Vanessa’s defense attorneys slowly lowered their pens and bowed their heads.
Elaine stood up from her chair in the corner, her face red with embarrassment. "Vanessa, shut your mouth!"
"No, Mom!" Vanessa sobbed hysterically, turning on Elaine with wild eyes. "You told me to handle her! You said if Claire didn't get on board with the family brand, we needed to make her look unhinged so no one would believe her about Lily!"
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I sat quietly beside my lawyer, watching my mother and sister tear each other apart across the table.
There was no victory in that moment. There was no joy. Just a deep, profound sadness for the years I had wasted hoping these people would one day choose to love me.
