Chapter 2

I opened the order page and clicked on the reviews section.

My fingers flew across the screen as I typed, "Dude, you sent me the wrong item. I ordered a ten-dollar fake bangle. If you see this, contact me right away to exchange it. It's super urgent!"

Then, I hit submit.

Sure enough, less than three minutes after the review went live, my phone started ringing like crazy. Thinking BallerBling had finally realized their mistake, I hurriedly pressed the answer button.

But the next second, an enraged voice blasted through the speaker, raining insults down on me.

"What the heck is wrong with you? Who told you to go running your mouth in the reviews? How dare you leave me a bad review? Do you have a death wish or something?"

I froze, stunned by the sheer volume of his shouting. "I didn't give you a bad review. I was trying to warn you that you sent the wrong item—"

"Don't even try to deny it! I can see everything on my back!" the man roared, cutting me off. "I've dealt with plenty of scammers like you! You think you can pull a fast one on me? Well, let me tell you—not a chance!"

He kept raging, his voice climbing an octave.

"You even had the nerve to report me to the platform? My store is about to get penalized! Are you really that broke and desperate? Is ten dollars really worth all this drama? You want a refund? Fine—just you wait!"

With a loud smack, he slammed the phone down. And just like that, the call disconnected.

I held my phone, my mind completely blank. I was still trying to process what he meant by "just you wait" when a few minutes later, Bethany suddenly bolted upright from the couch.

"Tasha Flynn, look at this! That jerk just blasted you online!"

I clicked the link she forwarded. A video popped up showing a middle-aged man sitting in front of a camera, weeping and sniveling.

"Fam, back me up here! I'm just a small business owner, working day and night just to scrape by. There was a tiny mix-up with a shipment, and this customer jumped straight to leaving a bad review without even trying to talk to me first."

In the video, he looked absolutely heartbroken.

"And on top of that, she reported me to the platform out of pure spite. Our security deposit got wiped out, and my shop is about to go under. I've got elderly parents to support and kids to feed. You think I've got it easy?"

Not only did he pin all the blame on me, but he also posted my phone number and tagged my social media handles right in the top comment.

The comment section had already exploded.

"This woman is seriously the worst. Did she really have to go this far over a ten-dollar item?"

"You can just tell from her profile picture she's a broke loser. She definitely wanted a refund while keeping the item for free. When the seller refused, she went on a revenge rampage."

"She's absolutely vile! Trash like her deserves to be exposed!"

As I scrolled through the flood of vitriol, I saw that someone had even photoshopped my profile picture into an obituary photo. I started shaking all over, a sharp tightness squeezing my chest until it felt like I was suffocating.

Bethany snatched the phone out of my hands, cursing furiously. "The nerve of this jerk, twisting the story and playing the victim like this! And he even doxxed you? I'm opening ten burner accounts right now to drag these brainless trolls!"

I quickly grabbed her arm to stop her. Then, after taking a deep breath, I opened the shop's homepage and looked up BallerBling's business registration address.

It was actually right here in the city.

I grabbed the shipping box from the couch and stood up. "I'm going to find him."

I had gone out of my way to help this guy recover a massive loss, but he was attacking me like a rabid dog. He couldn't even recognize goodwill when it smacked him in the face. The moment he weaponized public opinion to cyberbully me, the nature of this situation changed completely.

"Are you crazy? He's lashing out at everyone right now. If you go there, aren't you just walking into a trap?"

"I have to go. I'm not just returning the bangle. I'm going to make him apologize to me in front of everyone."

Half an hour later, I walked into the jewelry store.

The seller, Felix Prick, didn't even bother to look up from his counter when the door chimed. "What do you want?"

"I bought something from your online store, but you sent the wrong item."

The moment Felix heard those words, his face morphed into a mask of rage. He jabbed a finger directly at my face and yelled, "So it was you! You actually have the nerve to show up here? You must be out of your mind wanting money!"

His booming voice immediately drew the gaze of every customer in the store.

"I've seen plenty of broke freeloaders like you!" Felix continued to shout. "As soon as you get the package, you cook up some story to get your money back and keep the goods. And now you've got the nerve to show up at my brick-and-mortar store to cause a scene? You won't quit until I hand over a cash refund, is that it?"

I was completely stunned by the torrent of abuse.

So much for trying to do the right thing.

I'd originally come here to return a nine-thousand-dollar piece of jewelry and save him from ruin, yet he was treating me like a low-life scammer.

A sudden, sharp flare of rage burned away my shock. Staring straight into his eyes, I spoke clearly and firmly. "Delete the video and apologize to me right now."