Chapter 5 - Six Million Strangers
By lunchtime, six million strangers thought they knew me.
Some called me a monster for slapping Leo's hand. Others wanted Jax arrested. A man in Oregon made a video announcing that all bikers were criminals. A woman posted my apartment building and told me to move.
I turned off the phone, then turned it on again. I couldn't bear not knowing what people were saying about my child.
Rachel came to the hospital with clean clothes and a bag of groceries. "You have to stop reading this stuff."
"They keep saying I let him hurt Leo."
"You didn't understand what was happening. You still have to own the part you did understand."
She looked at the faint red mark where I'd swatted Leo's small hand. I wanted her to yell. She sat down and stayed.
That afternoon, Calvin Dorsey, the diner owner, appeared in the hospital lobby wearing a navy blazer and an expensive smile.
"Mrs. Bennett," he said, stretching out his hand. "What an ordeal. How's our little hero?"
I didn't take his hand. "Why are you showing people half a video?"
"We didn't post anything ourselves. Things spread." His smile flattened. "I've come to offer assistance. Medical expenses. Counseling. Privacy."
He slid a folder toward me. The first page was a payment agreement. The second said the diner had provided no toys, prizes, or small plastic objects to my child.
"You want me to sign a lie."
"I want to resolve a misunderstanding before an online mob turns you into its next target."
"My son almost died."
Dorsey adjusted his cuff. "And you'll never forgive yourself for those seconds, will you?"
For a moment I couldn't speak. He'd found the softest part of me and pressed.
Then his phone lit up on the table. I saw one message before he flipped it facedown.
May you like
DELETE THE FULL CLIP BEFORE TONIGHT.
It was from someone saved as MALCOLM, MANAGER.
