"You're about twenty, right?" I asked the girl who'd saved my life.
She nodded, confused.
"You recorded what happened at the restaurant, didn't you?"
Her eyes widened. "I—yes."
Without asking permission, I forwarded the video to myself.
"What are you doing?" the woman asked as I opened my social media account and uploaded the raw footage.
"Getting justice," I replied, watching as the likes and shares started multiplying by the second. The video went viral within minutes.
My phone rang—the police department. They confirmed they'd received multiple reports about the video and were opening an investigation.
An hour later, my phone rang again.
"Ms. Hazel?" the officer's voice sounded strained. "I regret to inform you that the case against Tara has been... dismissed."
"What?" I sat up despite the searing pain. "How is that possible? There's literal video evidence!"
“The footage has been flagged as manipulated. And we've received testimony that you were the aggressor."
The line went dead. I checked social media—the video had vanished from every platform as if it never existed.
That's when the door slammed open.