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“They were deepfakes.” She grips my forearm.
I have no idea what she’s talking about. My face must say as much.
“Deepfakes are created by using artificial intelligence technology. I realized what was going on after I took the time to calm down and think about it. Kris and I were planning on using similar technology to create realistic crowd scenes without paying for hundreds of extras. The software is so phenomenal nowadays, an entire movie can be created with one or two images.” She looks exhausted. Defeated.
I have to brace myself on the counter for balance, this is shocking. “What the actual feck, Mae?”
“It’s a thing, Connor. A real thing. You can download free apps. There are websites dedicated to morphing celebrities’ faces onto the faces of porn artists. They’re so convincing, it’s hard to distinguish real from fake.” Ronni grabs her phone and taps into it. Turns the screen to me. It’s a website with hundreds of graphic videos of celebrities having sex.
“Jaysus feckin’ Christ.” I can’t breathe. My heart races. My arse thunks down on a chair at the kitchen table. I bury my face in my hands. I’m not sure what to think. Or do.
Ronni sits next to me. “I’d should have believed you, my honey. Can you forgive me for overreacting? You had the jet, Zane let me use Carter’s. I got here as soon as I could.”
“After seeing those videos, I didn’t know what to do. I was distraught. I didn’t understand. I’ve never felt lower than I did in that moment.Youdidn’t believe me. Youtrulythought I could do that to you. You thought I couldstomachbeing inside another woman who wasn’t you.” I let out a giant puff of air. Ronni’s heart might be broken, but mine is too. I pound the table with my fist.
Ronni’s hand covers mine. “I was wrong. I was in shock. I’d have never believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. After you left, my mind was whirling. I made plans to move back to LA. Then I realized I wasn’t right in the head. So, I took a moment, sat with the boys. Gave myself a little space to think. It was so obvious. So stupidly obvious.”
“Who would do this to us?” I feel like I’m mortally wounded.
She cocks an eyebrow. “Do you need me to say his name?”
“Ach. Kircher? He took it this far?” I scrub my beard with my fingers. “Obviously. Was Yolanda involved too?”
Ronni barely contains a snarl. “I don’t know. I’d guess yes considering she showed up at the house. Sent you texts. She could have been working with him.”
“I’m so upset, Mae. I truly don’t know if we come back from this.” I pull my hand away. Squeeze my eyes shut. “Those videos…”
We sit in silence for what seems like hours. Eventually, Ronni speaks. Tentatively. “Your mom told me where you went, so I came here to bring you home.”
“Is she watching the boys?” My hands are shaking from stress.
She nods.
“Mae, I’m not going to sweep what happened under the rug. I can’t.” I bury my face in my hands. Shake my head.
I hear her get up and cross the room. Some rustling. She returns and sits next to me. Grabs my wrist and pulls it down. I look sideways to see her holding her iPad.
“What’s that?” I flick my eyes up to hers.
She pulls up her Instagram page. The latest post is recent. It’s our family portrait. Me, Ronni, and the boys in the living room at the town house.
Don’t believe everything you see. Come for me, I can take it. Come for my family, I won’t stand for it.
“So?” I look at it and glance at her hopeful expression.
Her face crumples. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. Together.”
“Together?” I stand abruptly, knocking the chair over. “I can’t take it, Mae. You did it again. Don’t you understand? You kicked me out on a gut reaction. I understand the videos were horrifying. Jesus Christ. This Kircher thing is the gift that keeps on giving. Fuck all of it.”
“Connor…” she calls as I storm out.
I make it to the living room.
Staring out at Belfast Lough, the deep hurt washes over me. This evil man has permeated our lives for years. His abuse damaged my wife so deeply she can’t fully trust me. She’s spent thousands of hours seeking revenge. Sacrificed her reputation to bring justice to his victims. I was a fool to think this was behind us.
It will never be behind us.
Not when he still manages to find ways to try to destroy her from behind bars.
