Chapter 8 - The Footage Leaks

I didn't leak the wedding video.

Rachel didn't leak it either.

It was Evan’s second cousin, Chloe—a nineteen-year-old college sophomore who had been so disgusted by Margaret’s behavior that she uploaded the raw, unedited footage to TikTok with the caption: *“My evil aunt rips off the bride’s wig because of alopecia. Watch the groom do nothing.”*

Within twelve hours, the algorithm did what justice so often failed to do.

By Wednesday morning, the video had racked up 14 million views, 2.8 million likes, and over 120,000 comments. By noon, it was picked up by major digital news outlets: *The New York Post, Buzzfeed, People Magazine.*

The internet was merciless.

Margaret Whitmore was instantly crowned "The Monster Mother-in-Law of the Century." Commenters dissected every single second of the clip:

*“Look at her evil smile right after she pulls it! That wasn’t an accident, that was assault!”*

*“The groom didn't even move! He just looked at his shoes! Spineless!”*

*“‘You told her to wait until after the ceremony’?! Someone throw that entire family in the trash!”*

The comment section became a tidal wave of solidarity. Thousands of women with alopecia, cancer survivors, and people with trichotillomania began posting videos under the hashtag **#StandWithNora**, proudly removing their wigs, showing their bare scalps, and celebrating their natural beauty.

I sat on my sofa at my parents' house, watching the notifications pour in by the tens of thousands. Women from France, Japan, Australia, and Brazil were messaging me:

*“You held your head so high.”*

*“You looked like a queen, and she looked like a ghoul.”*

*“Don't let them make you feel small.”*

My phone rang. It was Julian Vance.

“Have you seen the internet today, Nora?” he asked, a rare trace of amusement in his deep voice.

“It’s hard to miss,” I admitted. “Will this hurt our legal case?”

“Hurt it?” Julian chuckled. “Margaret Whitmore just retained the top crisis PR firm in New England, and they’re charging her fifty thousand dollars a day just to clean up her Wikipedia page. Meanwhile, the family court judge assigned to our emergency hearing has already scheduled our expedited deposition for tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow?”

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“Tomorrow,” Julian confirmed. “Margaret and Evan will be sitting in my conference room under oath. Dress comfortably, Nora. We’re about to put an end to the Whitmore dynasty.”

***