<
0200
984
I stood back with my daughter, watching,
feeling a twinge of something.
They tried to rip me off and got caught in their
own trap, killing their daughter.
Karma’s a bitch.
Rick snapped out of it faster.
He stormed over to me, his eyes bloodshot.
“You tell me, how did Lily die? How?!”
Seeing his aggression, I shielded my daughter. “Didn’t you hear the doctor? It was an asthma
attack. She didn’t get help in time!”
“When I was locked in the house, I told you your
daughter was in my house, and you had to open
the door.”
<
“What did you say then? You said the two-
thousand–dollar locksmith fee would take two
thousand dollars‘ worth of time.”
“You deliberately stalled for time, so the money
could be earned as expected, and that’s how
your daughter died!”
My words hit Rick like a hammer.
He realized he was responsible.
Facing this accusation, there was no way to
prove myself.
Turning the tables on him would be a much
better response.
And the crowd’s attention shifted at once.
“Two grand for a locksmith?! What?! That’s
extortion!”
<
9:01
007
“Rick was trying to rip her off while her house
was on fire!”
“No wonder it took so long to open the lock. He
was milking it for every penny!”
As people turned on him, Rick went red.
“Don’t try to distract me! Why was Lily in your
house? Did you lock her up?!” He tried to steer
the conversation.
As soon as she heard this, Gladys leaped up.
“You murderer! You killed my daughter!”
She shrieked and pushed through the crowd,
trying to grab me.
“You heartless witch! You took my daughter’s
life! You hear me you did!”
I tugged my daughter hack my voice clear
<
9:01
I tugged my daughter back, my voice clear.
984
“Facts require evidence. What makes you think I killed her?”
Gladys was shaking with rage, screaming, “My daughter died in your house! Who else could it be? Lily was only seven! How could you do this?”
She wailed, claiming I’d killed her daughter.
Rick, too, looked tragic. “We never did anything
to hurt you. If you had a problem, why didn’t
you come to me? Why hurt Lily?”
The crowd chimed in.
“Rick has a point. Why was her house on fire,
and why did someone else’s daughter die
inside?”
“Maybe… maybe this wasn’t an accident. Maybe
<
9:01
“Wow, this chick is twisted.”
1000
People were pulling out their phones and
broadcasting live.
Viewers, swayed by Rick and Gladys’s tearful
pleas, attacked me.
“Arson and murder! This woman’s a demon!
They need to lock her up and throw away the
key!”
“Yeah! They should beat her to death right
now!”
“If she was my neighbor, I’d kill her!”
“That family’s been through so much! Risking
their lives to put out the fire, and now their
daughter is gone.”
The comments were brutal.
9:01
I remained calm.
I’d seen this before.
982
Keyboard warriors just want something to talk
about, someone to hate.
They weren’t going to pass this up.
I was public enemy number one.
