I Thought I Was The Joke, I Was The Punishment Chapter 05

I Thought I Was The Joke, I Was The Punishment Chapter 05

By morning, the story had exploded online.

People tracked down Sabine’s social media accounts, and her comment sections filled up with personal

attacks.

Callan called first.

“Merritt, we can handle this privately. Don’t drag it online.”

Celeste was frantic.

“Merritt Voss, get that damn post taken down! Are you trying to push Sabine over the edge?”

Greer messaged me, too.

[Merritt, enough. Why do you have to take this so far?]

Tessa flooded my DMs.

[Do you w

ne to hate you, Merritt?]

cked them one by one.

turned against me.

defended Sabine publicly and claimed I was the other woman.

en my own parents took their side against me.

Within minutes, tens of thousands of abusive comments flooded my account.

People tracked down my university and emailed the graduate school, demanding that my degree be revoked.

Vandals splashed paint across my short-term rental and poured dog urine all over the place.

The host kicked me out, forcing me to board Bubbles at a pet boarding facility.

Three days later, I reorganized all my evidence and prepared to expose their lies.

Then my phone rang.

“Is this Ms. Voss? Several people broke into the kennel area last night and took your dog.”

“We found your dog’s body in the alley this morning. Please come identify it.”

For a second, I couldn’t process what I’d heard. I put down the phone and rushed out.

When I arrived, Bubbles’ body had been cut open, the organs scattered across the ground.

I sank to my knees. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and I could barely lift them.

My phone vibrated. It was a text from Callan.

[Merritt, I had no choice.]

[I didn’t know they’d post any of that. If I had, I would’ve stopped them.]

[But the damage is done. Trying to explain anything in the middle of this firestorm won’t do much good.]

[Sabine has a heart condition. She can’t handle the stress.]

[I worked hard to land the CG project. I need you to take the heat for now.]

[I’ll clear everything up later. We’re still getting married as planned.]

[To make it up to you, we’ll go to that island you’ve always wanted to visit for our honeymoon. Okay?]

Then a message from Greer appeared.

[It’s just online hate, Merritt. They’ll stop once they get bored.]

Tessa’s message followed.

[For the sake of the family’s reputation, stop making this worse.]

I stared at the words, feeling hollowed out.

Grief left me dazed.

Holding Bubbles’ body, I wandered along the road without direction.

Traffic roared and horns blared, but everything sounded far away.

Through the haze, I heard brakes screech.

A semi-truck couldn’t stop in time and barreled straight toward me.