Chapter 4

That day, I learned how true love could make Terence abandon all logic.

I had done nothing wrong, yet he assumed the worst of me.

It started drizzling outside the hospital.

Terence squinted, and his voice was cold. “You’re unresonable!”

…

After the two of them left, I searched online for a tech-savvy hacker and paid him to look up the poster's IP address.

Then, I called my colleague and asked her to send me a recording of the calls from that night.

My heart sank when I heard her words. “Sorry, Linda. We just lost all the data from that day. The IT department is trying to recover it now.

“But don’t worry. Before the data was lost, your husband and some girl dropped by to collect a copy.”

I clenched my fist.

I knew Sadie was involved in getting rid of the call logs. I had to find other evidence.

Before I knew it, the sun had set. Too much had happened that day, and I was exhausted, so it did not take long for me to fall asleep.

The next morning, I was woken up by a series of phone calls.

It was noisy on the other end of the line, but I could roughly make out the sound of camera shutters in the background.

Our neighbor’s tone was laced with concern. “You need to come back quickly, Melinda! A huge crowd of people just came to your house, and they have your grandmother surrounded.”

My mind went blank, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

I got off the bed and ran out of the hospital as I dialed Terence’s number. He picked up quickly.

“You’re behind this, aren’t you? You must really have a bone to pick with me! Why couldn’t you leave Granny out of this? You know she’s supposed to be resting!”

“Do you understand how scared Sadie felt that day now?” Even though it was coming from my phone speakers, Terence’s voice sounded so far away.

His response dazed me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll never understand how she felt unless I make you feel it for yourself." His tone was indifferent. "You should experience everything that happened to her.”

Anger and anguish filled my chest. I growled, “If anything happens to Granny, I will kill the two of you, I swear to God!”

I got into a taxi and finally had the time to look through my phone.

Thanks to Sadie’s ‘half of the story’, I was trending on social media again.

#911OperatorMocksPitifulMuteGirl

#EmergencyOperatorMelindaSnyderRefusesToCallAmbulance

#MelindaPlannedEverything

#ApologiseNowMelinda

I tapped on the first hashtag, which led me to Sadie’s response video. At the end of the video was my voice, “I won’t call an ambulance for you if you don’t speak.

“Please end the call if you can’t talk.”

…

The recording was edited to make it look like I was mocking Sadie’s call for help.

Netizens were in an uproar over the video and Terence’s subsequent response, and they managed to find my house.

By the time I arrived, Granny had already been forced into a corner.

Not only were there netizens, but reporters from many media outlets were present too, shoving their cameras in Granny’s face.

“Ma’am, what are your thoughts about Melinda mocking a girl who couldn’t talk when she needed help the most?”

“Are you ashamed to have such a heartless woman as a granddaughter?”

“I heard that Melinda lost her parents when she was young. Is that why she’s so heartless?”

Granny was helpless against the barrage of questions, and she turned to look at Terence for help.

“That’s not true. Melinda would never do something like that. She’s always been a good girl!”

My fingernails dug into my palms as I squeezed through the crowd.