"Yo, this is insane! The masquerade ball just turned into the trial of the century," one student commented into his camera.
"Ephyra's been playing the long game," another added in her livestream. "Look at her up there. Cool as ice while everyone else is losing their minds. Respect."
"I knew there was something off about that Marianna woman," a middle-aged man said loudly, glaring at her as she wept. "She always seemed too over the top, self-entitled, and arrogant."
"And Myra," a woman beside him sneered.
"That girl tormented my niece at school. I hope she gets what's coming to her."
"Eliot isn't blameless," another guest interjected. "He brought this woman into his home without seeing the damage she'd cause. And to think he allowed his real daughter to suffer!"
As the noise grew louder, more and more guests turned their attention back to Ephyra.