Chapter 5 The AI Face Swap Trap

# Chapter 5: The AI Face Swap Trap

Eden's revelation about Alexander's surveillance left me reeling, but there was no time to process. The next morning brought a new directive: I was to attend the Constantine family council meeting as Vivienne.

"This is insane," I protested as Eden adjusted my appearance in his study. "Alexander already suspects I'm not Vivienne. Putting me in a room full of Constantine executives is suicide."

"On the contrary," Eden replied, fastening pearl earrings to my lobes. "It's precisely where we need you to be."

He handed me a small device that looked like an ornate compact mirror. "Keep this with you. When I signal, open it and press the center button."

"What does it do?"

"It activates a projection system I've installed in the boardroom." Eden's eyes held mine. "Trust me."

Trust him? The man who'd kidnapped me, forced me to impersonate a possibly dead woman, and dragged me into his revenge plot? But what choice did I have?

"Fine," I slipped the device into my purse. "But you need to tell me what's really happening today."

Eden checked his watch. "The Constantine Group holds quarterly family councils. Today, Alexander will announce his engagement to Vivienne Laurent, solidifying his position as sole heir."

"And you?"

"As the disinherited younger son, I'm barely tolerated at these meetings." His smile was razor-sharp. "A situation that will change dramatically today."

We walked together to the boardroom, Eden briefing me on the key players—board members, family elders, company executives. All complicit, according to Eden, in covering up his mother's murder and Alexander's crimes.

The boardroom was imposing—all dark wood and leather, portraits of Constantine patriarchs glaring down from the walls. Around twenty people were already seated when we entered. Alexander stood at the head of the table, his cold gaze locking on me immediately.

"Ah, the happy couple has arrived," he announced, his voice carrying across the room. "Let me introduce my fiancée, Vivienne Laurent."

All eyes turned to me. I smiled demurely, channeling Vivienne's practiced grace as I'd been trained to do. Eden guided me to a seat near the center of the table, positioning himself several chairs away—close enough to make eye contact, far enough to avoid suspicion.

The meeting began with financial reports, acquisition updates, market projections. I sat silently, the perfect ornamental fiancée, while scanning the room for escape routes. There were none. Guards stood at each door, and I recognized the head of security as the man who had kidnapped me from the auction house.

An hour in, Alexander called for attention. "Before we proceed to the next agenda item, I'd like to formally announce my engagement to Vivienne." He raised his glass. "Our union will strengthen the Constantine legacy for generations to come."

Polite applause followed. Eden caught my eye and nodded slightly. It was time.

With trembling fingers, I opened the compact and pressed the center button. Nothing seemed to happen. Alexander continued speaking, outlining wedding plans and strategic family alliances.

Then the lights dimmed.

"What's happening?" Alexander demanded, looking to his security team.

The large screen behind him, previously showing company projections, flickered to life. What appeared was so shocking that several board members gasped aloud.

Footage of a bedroom. A woman bound to a bed. Alexander standing over her, implements of torture laid out beside him.

"Shut it off!" Alexander roared, but the security team seemed frozen in horror.

The woman's face came into focus, and I nearly gasped myself. It was my face—or rather, my features digitally overlaid onto the victim's body through some advanced AI technology. The effect was seamless, terrifying. To everyone in the room, it appeared that Alexander's sadistic proclivities were directed at his own fiancée.

The footage changed, showing different scenes, different women—all with my face now. The board members were on their feet, shouting, pointing. Alexander lunged for the control panel, but nothing stopped the projection.

"This is fabricated!" he shouted. "Someone is manipulating the footage!"

But his protests fell on deaf ears as the images grew more disturbing. The AI face swap was flawless—every victim now wore my face, their terror and pain seemingly mine.

In the chaos, Eden appeared beside me. "When I say the word, tear your dress at the shoulder," he whispered. "Reveal the bruises."

"What bruises?" I hissed back.

"The ones I applied while you were sleeping. Makeup, but they'll look real enough."

I stared at him in horror. How many times had he entered my room while I slept? What else had he done that I didn't know about?

Alexander finally managed to cut the power to the projection system, plunging the room into momentary darkness before emergency lights activated. When visibility returned, he was standing at the head of the table, gun in hand.

"Who did this?" he demanded, his voice deadly quiet. "Who tampered with my private files?"

The silence was absolute. Then Eden stood.

"Perhaps you should ask yourself why you have such files at all, brother." His voice carried perfectly in the hushed room. "Or why your 'fiancée' bears the marks of your special attention."

Alexander's gaze swung to me, then back to Eden. "You," he snarled. "You've always been jealous. Always trying to undermine me."

"I'm merely showing our esteemed board what kind of man they've chosen to lead the Constantine Group." Eden's calm was chilling. "A man who follows in our father's footsteps in all the worst ways."

Alexander leveled the gun at Eden. Several board members moved toward the exits, only to find the guards blocking their way.

"You think you can turn them against me?" Alexander laughed bitterly. "They've known what I am for years. They've helped cover it up. They're as guilty as I am."

Murmurs of denial swept the room, but I noticed several older board members remained tellingly silent.

"Perhaps," Eden conceded. "But even they have limits to what they'll tolerate. Even they won't accept you torturing your own fiancée."

Alexander turned to me, his pale eyes burning with hatred. "Tell them," he commanded. "Tell them you're not injured. Show them this is all a lie."

This was it—the moment Eden had been orchestrating. I felt his gaze on me, waiting for his signal. Alexander stepped closer, gun now pointed at me.

"Show them!" he shouted.

Eden's voice came soft but clear: "Now."

With shaking hands, I reached for the shoulder of my dress and tore the delicate fabric. The boardroom fell silent as perfectly crafted bruises were revealed—fingermarks that exactly matched the size of Alexander's hands.

The effect was immediate. Board members recoiled in horror. Even the guards looked shocked. Alexander's face contorted with rage.

"She's not Vivienne," he spat. "This woman is an impostor. My brother has planted her to destroy me."

He lunged toward me, gun still in hand. Several people screamed. Eden moved to intercept, but Alexander was faster.

He grabbed me, pressing the gun to my temple. "Who are you?" he hissed into my ear. "What has my brother promised you?"

The boardroom had descended into chaos—people shouting, security uncertain who to restrain. I felt the cold metal of the gun against my skin and knew I had seconds to act.

Eden caught my eye across the room. His expression told me everything—this was the moment he'd been planning for. This was why I was here.

"Your brother promised me nothing," I said, loud enough for those nearby to hear. "But your mother promised to protect me."

Alexander's grip faltered for just an instant—enough for me to wrench away. As I did, Eden was suddenly beside me, pulling me behind him.

"Look at her shoulder," Eden commanded the room. "Look at what my brother does to women who resemble our mother."

In the ensuing silence, Alexander's laugh was chilling. "You think this proves anything? You think anyone here cares?"

He swung the gun toward Eden. "You've failed, little brother. Just like you failed to save our mother."

The gun fired. Someone screamed. I felt Eden flinch but remain standing. The bullet had missed—or had it?

"Security," Alexander called calmly. "Remove my brother and this impostor. Make sure they never leave the estate."

The guards moved forward, but Eden stood his ground. "Before you follow that order," he said to the head of security, "you might want to check your phones. All of you."

Around the room, phones began chiming with incoming messages. Board members pulled them out, faces paling as they viewed the contents.

"What I just showed you wasn't only playing in this room," Eden explained. "The same footage—with evidence of its authenticity—has just been sent to every major news outlet, law enforcement agency, and financial regulator in the country."

Alexander's composure finally cracked. "You're bluffing."

"The Constantine Group's stock is already dropping," Eden nodded toward a financial terminal on the wall, its display showing a plummeting red line. "In about ten minutes, when trading is halted, this company will be worth half what it was this morning."

The boardroom erupted again—executives shouting into phones, security personnel looking to each other for direction. Alexander stood alone, gun hanging at his side, face twisted with hatred.

Eden leaned down to whisper in my ear, his breath warm against my skin. "Now... tear your dress again. Lower."

I stared at him in shock. "What?"

"Trust me," he murmured. "Tear it. Now."

With trembling fingers, I ripped the bodice of my dress, revealing more of the artificial bruising Eden had applied. The room fell silent again, all eyes on me.

"Look at what he's done to her," Eden said, his voice carrying. "Look at what he does to all of them."

Alexander lunged forward with a roar of rage, gun raised. Security finally moved, tackling him to the ground. The gun skittered across the floor.

Eden pulled me toward the door. "We need to leave. Now."

As we fled the boardroom, the sounds of struggle followed us—shouting, the crash of furniture, Alexander's enraged screams. Eden led me through corridors I hadn't seen before, moving deeper into the house rather than toward an exit.

"Where are we going?" I gasped, struggling to keep up in my torn dress.

"Somewhere safe," Eden replied. "Alexander won't be contained for long."

We descended stairs, passed through a hidden door, and emerged in what appeared to be an underground tunnel. Only when we were far from the main house did Eden slow our pace.

"What happens now?" I asked, my heart still racing.

Eden's smile was cold but satisfied. "Now Alexander loses everything—his position, his freedom, his future. The board will turn on him to save themselves."

"And what happens to me?" I demanded. "Your plan worked. Do I get to go home now?"

Eden stopped, turning to face me. In the dim light of the tunnel, his eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural intensity.

"Home?" he repeated softly. "But Janice, we're just getting started."

The way he said my real name—after days of calling me Vivienne—sent a chill down my spine. Whatever victory we'd just achieved, I knew with sudden clarity that I was still very much a prisoner.

And Eden Constantine, for all his talk of justice, was every bit as dangerous as his brother.