Part 3Night Drive Nightmare

"Ma'am, we deal in actual evidence here. Our tech department ran the video you submitted. It's heavily altered. The original audio and actions belong to your husband, Boris."

The desk sergeant looked at her with pure exhaustion. "You submitted fabricated evidence, perjured yourself, and publicly slandered another citizen. We are officially placing you under arrest for criminal obstruction and defamation."

"Arrest me? On what grounds?!"

The moment Brenda realized she was actually going to be detained, she lost her mind. She started sweeping everything off the precinct's front desk, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"That little whore definitely paid you off! You're protecting a murderer! You're bullying a helpless family! Does the law even exist in this country anymore?!"

She grabbed a paper cup of water and threw it directly into an officer's face. When two cops moved to restrain her, she threw herself onto the floor in a theatrical swoon. She threw herself down a little too hard, and the back of her head cracked against the tile floor, drawing a thin line of blood.

The second she felt the blood, she started wailing, rolling around on the floor.

"I demand to see the captain! I'm taking this to the supreme court!"

Her tantrum was a well-oiled machine. It was obvious she had used this exact method to bully people into submission her entire life.

Unfortunately for her, she was throwing her fit in the middle of a police precinct, directly under a 4K security camera. No amount of screaming was going to save her from the handcuffs.

When two officers hauled her up by her armpits like a dead fish, Brenda actually looked confused.

She genuinely seemed baffled that her foolproof strategy had finally landed her in jail.

By the time reality set in, she was crying, begging them to believe that someone else gave her the video and she had no idea it was fake.

The officer just twisted her arms behind her back. His voice was completely devoid of sympathy.

"Too late for that. Enjoy your cell."

They hauled her off to the medical ward to check the cut on her head. I watched the chaotic mess left behind on the floor and sighed.

"You might want to book her a psych evaluation while you're at it."

"She seriously needs her head checked."

Brenda tried to play hardball and ended up deepfaking her way into a jail cell.

Now, the son was paralyzed in a hospital bed, and the daughter-in-law was locked in county jail.

Boris's elderly parents panicked. They hired a legal proxy to meet with me, begging me to sign a letter of forgiveness so they could bail Brenda out.

"They're a hardworking family. Boris is in sales. He has to drink with clients to close deals. He just had a little too much that night."

"Brenda is busy with the kids, and Boris wanted to save a few bucks on an Uber. He thought the streets were empty and he knew the neighborhood well. It was just a momentary lapse in judgment."

The slick lawyer pushed his glasses up his nose, his tone deeply serious.

"The family is willing to cover the damages to your vehicle. But they ask that you show some grace. Sign the settlement so Brenda can go home and care for her children. And please, drop the charges so Boris doesn't get a permanent record. It could ruin the kids' future college applications."

The lawyer was a smooth talker. He booked a table at a high-end steakhouse and ordered their signature dishes just to butter me up.

But the moment he slid that exact same absurd settlement agreement across the table, I stood up from my chair.

"They owe me for the car and my three days of medical bills regardless of any agreement."

"From start to finish, Boris is at fault. Why the hell should I pay the price for his stupidity?"

"You saw the dashcam footage. He literally said I deserved to die. Losing his legs is karma. I am not paying a single cent."

"You're being incredibly vicious for a young woman. You crushed his legs. Even just out of basic humanitarian decency..."

The lawyer furrowed his brow, trying to shame me. I just laughed.

"Humanitarian decency only applies to humans. Not rabid animals."

"Being this stubborn isn't good for your health, kid."

The lawyer sighed heavily, slipping the paper back into his briefcase. He shook his head.

"Boris is the golden boy of that family. You turned him into a cripple. Their resentment toward you is massive."

"You ruined their son's life, and now you refuse to pay a dime. When the payback finally catches up to you, it's going to cost you a lot more than a million dollars."

The payback arrived faster than I expected.

After the incident, my dad called my college advisors to get me a temporary leave of absence. He wanted me to stay home until the legal drama officially concluded.

"Boris's family are the neighborhood bullies. Now that you've hurt him, they're definitely going to come looking for trouble," my dad warned me.

"They already did. One of them is already in a cell."

My dad, Arthur, ran a very popular local deli. Weekends were packed, so I was helping out behind the counter.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the front door swing open.

"Welcome! Menus are on the tables, or you can scan the QR code to order."

An elderly woman waddled in. Her face was heavy with loose flesh, a massive knock-off designer bag slung over her shoulder. Trailing behind her were two chubby boys waving plastic action figures around, violently smacking them together. They nearly knocked over a glass bottle of hot sauce on the nearest table.

I quickly caught the bottle before it shattered. The old woman’s narrow, beady eyes locked onto me. She flipped aggressively through the menu before pointing a bony, wrinkled finger at my face.

"Your sign outside says unlimited soup refills if we order a large bowl, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. Free refills on the broth."

The old woman had a dark mole on the corner of her mouth.

I remembered seeing the exact same mole on Boris's face.