The next morning my phone buzzed nonstop with notifications. When I opened social media I saw a post written by Brittany that included a photo of my injured face and a caption claiming I had arrived drunk at my parents’ house and attacked my father after refusing to help the family. Hundreds of comments from neighbors and relatives supported her story and accused me of being ungrateful.
My hands shook as Danielle read the post over my shoulder. “This is unbelievable,” she said angrily. “We are going to tell the real story.”
Over the following week police investigators collected statements while the hospital documented my injuries. Danielle also provided security footage from the camera outside her building showing me arriving barely able to stand. Soon afterward a neighbor of my parents contacted the police because their doorbell camera had recorded part of the confrontation in the garage including my father shouting and the moment he shoved me into the shelf. The video looked grainy but it clearly showed the violence.