Chapter 3 - The Viral Morning After
I woke up on Chloe’s guest bed.
The morning light was harsh.
Maisie was curled up next to me, breathing softly.
I carefully slipped out of bed so I wouldn't wake her.
I walked into the kitchen where Chloe was already brewing coffee.
She looked up from her laptop, her expression grim.
“You need to see this,” she said.
She turned the screen toward me.
A video clip was playing on mute.
It was a screen-recording of Tessa’s livestream.
It had been shared on a local community group.
Then someone posted it on Twitter.
Then TikTok.
It already had over two million views.
The comments were scrolling by faster than I could read them.
“Who is that monster in the green dress?”
“Did that man seriously just keep holding his fork?!”
“The mom is a hero. I would have flipped the table.”
“Someone needs to call CPS on the grandmother.”
My hands shook as I held my warm mug of coffee.
“It’s out of my control,” I whispered.
“It’s exactly where it needs to be,” Chloe corrected me.
My phone started buzzing on the counter.
It was an unknown number.
I answered it cautiously.
“Hello?”
“Is this the mother from the video?” a crisp voice asked.
“Who is this?”
“I’m a reporter for the local Tribune. Care to make a comment on the incident?”
I hung up immediately.
Then a text came in from Evan.
“You need to fix this. My boss saw the video. Mom is having a panic attack. Bring Maisie home now.”
He still didn't get it.
He thought this was something I could just erase.
He thought he could command me to return to the cage.
I typed back my first message to him since the dinner.
“I am not coming back. Do not contact me again unless it is through a lawyer.”
I blocked his number.
I blocked Margaret’s number.
I blocked Tessa’s number.
I turned to Chloe.
“I need a lawyer,” I said.
“A shark.”
“Already found one,” Chloe smiled, handing me a business card.
May you like
“Her name is Sarah Vance. She watched the video.”
“And she’s waiting for your call.”
