Chapter 3

Penny waved the camera in the air and turned it on in front of everyone. All the photos in storage were of Monica, taken from the same angle.

"See? These are all sneaky shots of my daughter!" Penny held up the camera to my face. "Here's the undeniable proof you asked for. What do you have to say about it?"

The neighbors egged her on. "He's crossed a line! We need to teach that creep a lesson!"

"There's a fine line between loving your kid and spoiling him. You may allow his depravity now, but society won't!"

"You'd better get your son to come home now and apologize for his crime!"

Penny wiped her tears, interjecting, "If you delete these photos and compensate us, we can move on from this. I don't want this to get out, either… But if you refuse, I'll take your son to court!"

Some of the neighbors praised Penny for her generosity and kindness. I, on the other hand, found this entire exchange hilarious. "This camera doesn't belong to my son. We've never had a camera in the house."

Furious at my firm denial, Penny stormed up to me and slapped me hard across the face. "You call yourself a human after spewing such lies? You don't think I love and protect Monica just as you do your son? Why do you insist on protecting someone so evil!?"

My cheek stung from the slap, but I didn't hesitate to return the favor. "I told you, my son would never do something like this. Besides, I've never seen that camera before.

"I've already called my son. He'll be home soon. If you don't believe me, feel free to wait for him here."

Penny cupped her face and eyed me with disbelief, probably wondering where I got my audacity from.

Then, she plopped down on the floor and wailed, "What have Monica and I done to deserve this? I can see where that creep gets his nerve from—his unreasonable mother!"

The neighbors admonished me, but I only snorted. "Quit the act. The cops will be here soon. We'll let them determine whether the camera belongs to my son."

Penny blanched a little at this. I saw a vicious look flash in her eyes before her hand darted out and grabbed my face. "Confess and compensate, or we'll strip you and take photos of you! See how you'll like it when your modesty is on full display!"

She'd just said this when she reached for my collar with her free hand, giving it a rough tug. A ripping sound filled the air as she tore the seams of my collar, revealing my bra.

Everyone went still. Some gasped, but others stayed silent. I was pinned in place by a few people and couldn't move my limbs. I could only struggle wildly while crying out for help, "Stop! This is against the law! Let me go!"

Someone grew uneasy at this turn of events and stepped in. "Hey, maybe this isn't a good idea. Her son's the peeping Tom, not her. Surely we don't have to go this far…"

Penny whipped her head around to glare at the person who spoke, but quickly switched back to her victim act as she appealed to the crowd, "I don't want to have to do this, either! But she's being too unreasonable!

"All I want is an apology for Monica! If this lady would just apologize and admit her son's wrongdoing, I wouldn't have to resort to such extreme measures! She made me!"

Monica wasted no time in chiming in. "Mom was only looking out for me and protecting me! She was willing to become the villain for me! I won't blame her for doing this!"

As Penny and Monica continued their two-woman show, they managed to earn another round of sympathy from some of the neighbors.

"This lady's the one who chose to defend her creepy son. If she'd apologized sooner, we would have backed off!"

"She just needs a taste of her own medicine and a hard lesson to know how the victim feels!"

Gradually, the voices supporting Penny and Monica began to drown out the protests in my favor.

Penny cracked a smug smile, her claws digging harder into my face. Just as I was about to lose hope, someone suddenly shouted, "The cops are here!"