Chapter 1
The moment I stepped out of the supermarket, three huge guys slammed me face-down onto the hood of a Porsche.
The rich kid behind the wheel, Alex Carter, grabbed me by the throat and shoved his phone in my face, showing me a chat log.
"Cut the act," Alex snarled. "You spent months in-game calling me 'babe' and scammed me out of 2 million dollars for a house and a car, and now you're trying to run?
"I'd know that fake cutesy voice anywhere. The way you spoke at the checkout was exactly like in-game."
His punk friend, Jessica Reed, ripped off my jacket and pulled out a pair of scissors, ready to chop off my hair.
"You look all respectable, but you're just a gold digger," she spat. "Hand over the money, or we'll strip you naked and march you down the street."
A crowd gathered fast, three or four rows deep. Their looks of disgust cut into me like blades. Their discussion was loud.
"So young and already up to no good, scamming people online."
"Serves her right! Scammers like her should be publicly shamed."
Alex's grip had me seeing stars. I waved my hands frantically, trying to signal something, but no sound came out.
Cutesy voice? Just like mine?
But I was mute.
*****
Alex's fingers felt like steel rods, unyielding and cold.
My face turned bright red as I kicked frantically at the floor, my shoes scraping out a harsh, desperate noise.
"Sign language? Still faking it?" Alex growled, his grip on my neck tightening even more.
With his other hand, he held up his phone, the screen flipping through a chat log packed with voice notes, each over a minute long.
"Earlier at the checkout, your voice was identical to when you conned me out of my money.
"You really think you can play me for a fool?" he snarled.
I clawed at his wrists, digging my nails into his skin.
It was useless.
Jessica, standing beside him, grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked it back violently.
My scalp tore with agony.
"Alex, why waste your breath on this trash?" Jessica spat.
She pressed the rusty scissors right against my scalp.
The icy touch of the metal sent a chill shooting down my spine.
A hank of my hair dropped onto the hood of the Porsche.
"If you don't cough up that 2 million today, I'll shave you bald first, then strip you and throw you out on the street," she threatened.
The crowd closed in, tightening the circle around me.
Countless phones shot up, flashes firing off like a blinding white net.
A middle-aged woman with a shopping bag shoved her way to the front and jabbed a finger inches from my nose.
"Seriously? Young girls these days have zero shame. Perfectly healthy, and she still chooses to scam people," she snapped.
A guy in a plaid shirt shouted, "Bro, don't go easy on her! Gold-diggers like her should be reported to the cops and made to do hard labor in prison."
"Yeah! Strip her. Let's see if she ever dares show her face again," someone else yelled.
The jeers and insults flooded my ears like a raging tsunami.
My mouth hung open, my throat only able to force out hoarse wheezing sounds, like a fish tossed onto dry land.
I used every ounce of strength to pry Alex's fingers loose.
My right hand gestured frantically in the air.
I pointed at my throat, then waved my hand forcefully.
"Still playing mute, huh?" Alex sneered and suddenly let go.
Without his grip, I collapsed onto the hood, my knee smashing into the car emblem. A sharp pain stabbed right through me.
Before I could catch my breath, a slap smashed into my left cheek.
My mouth flooded with the strong, metallic taste of blood.
"Keep acting, huh?" Alex roared, kicking the car door so hard the whole car shook, sending a jolt through me. "2 million dollars! I never even saw your face, and you took all my money."
Jessica stepped forward and grabbed my collar.
"Alex, she won't admit it until she's really pushed to the edge," she sneered.
She raised the scissors, aiming them at the buttons on my shirt.
"Strip her. Let's see if she keeps pretending," she added.
The crowd burst into laughter. Someone even whistled.
I clutched my collar, scrambling frantically for my coat pocket.
"Trying to grab a weapon?" Alex scoffed, stomping right down on the back of my hand.
His sole ground hard against my knuckles.
My whole body spasmed from the pain, tears splattering onto the hood of the car.
But I kept clutching that thing in my pocket.
I yanked my hand free, not caring if I broke a bone in the process.
I smacked an ID right into Alex's face.
The card tumbled to the ground and flipped open.
Two bold words were printed on it: Speech Impairment.
The crowd's laughter died out instantly.
Everyone's eyes locked onto that Disability ID.
While Alex stood frozen, I shoved him away and slid down against the car to the ground.
I gasped for air, pulling my phone out of my pocket with trembling hands and opening up my notes app.
I typed furiously.
I cranked the brightness to max and held the screen up to Alex's face.
[I'm mute, born with damaged vocal cords. I've never spoken a word in my life.
[The voice you heard at the checkout was my phone's voice assistant.
[Now, I'm reporting you to the police for intentional harm.]