She’s Poking the Tiger, and I’m Enjoying the Show Chapter 09

She’s Poking the Tiger, and I’m Enjoying the Show Chapter 09

The police also opened a criminal investigation into whether Aria’s actions constituted reckless endangerment, focusing on the extent of the risk she had created for everyone in the minivan.

I gave two formal statements.

Both times, I told them everything I knew. I didn’t embellish anything, but I didn’t cover for Aria,

either.

On the third evening after the attack, my phone rang with a call from an unfamiliar number.

When I answered, Mrs. Bennett’s hoarse voice came through.

“Emma, this is Aria’s mother.”

I said nothing.

She cried for a while before continuing.

“I was beside myself the other day, and I said things I shouldn’t have. Aria is in terrible shape. The doctors say she may never regain full use of her right hand. She cries every day, and she’s barely holding herself together.”

“She knows she was wrong.”

“She wants to apologize to you in person.”

I watched the traffic outside my window.

“I don’t want to see her.”

Aria wasn’t asking to see me because she wanted to apologize,

She wanted revenge. I was sure of it.

Mrs. Bennett faltered.

“She’s already suffered so much. Can’t you show her a little compassion? She’s loved animals since

she was a child. She isn’t a bad person. She just had too much faith in herself.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

“Mrs. Bennett, Aria wasn’t hurt because she loved animals.”

“She was hurt because she broke the rules, fed and provoked a tiger, and then tried to force open my door.”

The other end of the line went silent.

I continued.

she had opened that door, I might have been the one dragged outside. Everyone else in the minivan could’ve been in danger too.”

“What happened to her was the result of her own choices. I didn’t cause it.”

Mrs. Bennett’s crying grew shriller.

“But you knew she was out there! How could you be so calm?”

My grip tightened around the phone.

Of course I had stayed calm.

The first time, losing my head had cost me my life.

“I called for help and waited for trained staff, exactly as instructed.”

“That was everything I could and should have done.”

“If the police, the park, or the courts need my cooperation, I’ll provide it.”

“But I’m not forgiving her.

I ended the call and blocked the number.

A few minutes later, Daniel sent me two messages.

[I’m sorry.]

[I was a coward that day. If you hadn’t stopped me, I probably would’ve opened one of the doors.]

I replied.

[From now on, remember the rules. That matters more than an apology.]

He sent one final reply.

[Okay.]

The next day, I submitted my resignation.

The vice president tried to persuade me to stay, offering me a transfer, additional compensation, and paid leave.

I turned it all down.

I could no longer sit in the same conference room with those people and listen to them discuss content angles, engagement numbers, and damage control.

them, rules were just boxes to check, danger was content, and a human life was just another PR

cost.

I didn’t want to work there anymore.

HR processed my resignation quickly.

The company was probably afraid I would keep speaking out, so it offered me a respectable severance package, likely hoping I would leave quietly.

On my last day, I returned to collect the rest of my belongings.

Half the desks in Marketing were empty.

Aria’s workstation had already been cleared, leaving several cardboard boxes stacked in the corner.

The top box hadn’t been sealed properly, and a tuft of brightly colored feathers poked out from

beneath the lid.

The feather wand was broken, and the plastic handle was badly scuffed.

Beside it lay one of Aria’s idea notebooks.

The open page read: [Livestream hook: carnivore enclosure. Get a big cat to respond to me. Need a

click-worthy title. Best-case scenario: it goes viral.]

I stared at the words for several seconds before putting the lid back on.

Aria’s so-called kindness toward animals had never been pure.

It had always been about views, putting on a show, and her selfish need to drag everyone around

her into the frame.