Between the Dream I Don’t Need to Continue or the Old Friend I Never Expected

"What's wrong? You don't remember?" I stepped closer. "Or did you never see it at all?"

"I… I was drunk at the time…" she stammered.

"Drunk, yet you remember he forced you?" My head tilted. "Drunk, yet you're absolutely certain the child is his?"

Alex exploded. "Anna Matthews! Stop trying to change the subject! The evidence is right there, and you're still trying to twist words?"

"A few blurry photos constitute a conviction?" I let out a dry laugh. "By that logic, if I snap a picture of you standing next to a woman on the street, I can claim you raped her?"

"You—!"

"Furthermore." My voice cut through his sputtering. "How did you obtain hotel surveillance footage? High-end hotels don't exactly hand out security tapes to random strangers."

His mouth opened. Closed. Nothing came out.

Georgia rushed to fill the silence. "My roommate… she helped me find connections…"

"Oh?" I swung my gaze to the girl still clutching the phone. "Does your family own the hotel chain? Or are you personal friends with the CEO?"

The roommate stared at the floor, shuffling her feet. "My… my cousin works there…"

"What a coincidence." The words dripped with acid. "Your cousin just happens to work at the exact hotel where Dominic allegedly attacked Georgia. Just happens to have access to the security room. And just happens to be willing to commit a felony by leaking private footage to you?"

The tide in the livestream comments began to turn.

*"She has a point…"*

*"Yeah, you can't just get hotel security tapes. That's highly illegal."*

*"And if it was rape, why didn't she call the police immediately?"*

Georgia's hand flew to her stomach. She doubled over, crumpling to the floor. "Oww… my stomach hurts…"

"Georgia!" Her roommate screamed at the camera. "This is too much! This old witch is doing it on purpose! She's jealous that you're carrying her husband's baby!"

Alex's finger jabbed toward my face, trembling with rage. "Anna Matthews! If anything happens to my sister or that baby, you're dead!"

I watched their performance with cold detachment. "Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

Georgia curled tighter, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Ms. Matthews, why do you have to force me like this? I just want justice…"

"Justice?"

The word cracked something open inside me.

"Georgia, when you knelt in the mud and begged me for money, you used that exact word. You said you wanted an education. A fair shot at life."

I looked down at her—this girl I had believed in, fought for, sacrificed for.

"I gave you books. I gave you a chance to change your fate." My voice didn't waver. "And this is how you repay me?"

Her eyes darted away.

"You stop guilt-tripping her!" Alex roared. "So what if you sponsored her? Does giving money mean your husband gets to use her as a toy?"

I straightened, my patience finally, completely spent.

"Enough. I'll say this one last time." I held up a finger. "First, Dominic Sawyer would never force himself on anyone." A second finger. "Second, the child in your belly cannot possibly be his."

My gaze swept the room, landing on the blinking red light of the camera.

"Third, if you continue this charade, I'm calling the police. Defamation and extortion are serious crimes."

Silence.

The chat stream blurred past:

*"This teacher is tough as nails. Her logic is flawless."*

*"She sounds way too confident. Is there something we don't know?"*

*"Could this be a scam?"*

The crowd at the door parted. Department Director Lambert squeezed through, breathless and red-faced. "What is going on here?!"

Alex lunged toward him like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline. "Director Lambert! You're just in time! Anna Matthews' husband raped my sister! She's four months pregnant! Now they won't admit it, and she's slandering my sister, saying we're trying to scam them!"

"Director Lambert." My voice remained level. "They're lying. My husband could not have gotten Georgia pregnant."

Alex's face purpled. "You're finished, yet you're still digging in your heels! A teacher like you is a stain on this school's reputation!" He whirled on Lambert. "I demand you expel Anna Matthews immediately!"