By the time the statement was done, it was full daylight. I went straight to the office.
I'd barely reached the foot of the building when a crowd blocked my way.
The middle-aged woman at the front wore black, her face twisted with rage. It was Drew's mother.
Behind her stood seven or eight relatives, holding up a printed banner in huge characters that read:
"Heartless matchmaking woman drove my son to his death. A life for a life!"
Aileen lunged to hit me. I dodged.
She dropped straight to the ground, beating her chest and wailing.
It was the morning rush hour, and her crying pulled a crowd of passersby in an instant. Plenty of them were my coworkers.
Her relatives shouted over each other.
"It's her! One blind date and she killed the most promising, most capable young man in the Harding family. Veronica Fox is a murderer!"
"A murderer walking free, coming and going to work like nothing happened. Is there any justice left?"
"Working alongside a murderer. Aren't you all afraid?"
The crowd stirred, exchanging looks, not understanding what was going on.
Aileen cried harder.
"My son went into that date with an honest heart. He was so happy, he wanted things to work out. And she humiliated him in public, treated him like dirt, called my son a toad reaching for a swan, said he wasn't good enough for her. Every word cut right into his heart!"
"My boy was simple-hearted. Her vicious words kept him up all night, tore him apart, and in the end his heart gave out and he died!"
"My perfectly healthy boy, driven to his death by her!"
A wave of shock ran through the crowd, murmurs rising on all sides.
"God, so young and so cold-hearted. A perfectly fine young man, and a blind date cost him his life."
"She must have said something cruel. How else does a healthy person just drop dead?"
"Losing a child in middle age, an old parent burying a young one. That poor mother."
"Which company is she with? Let's file a joint complaint. I really can't stand being in the same building as a murderer."
The Harding relatives raged on.
"Drew was young and accomplished, with a bright future ahead of him, and you drove him to death, harangued him to death! You ruined Drew's whole life, ruined their entire family! You have to pay!"
"That's right, do you know how hard my sister-in-law worked to raise Drew? He was all she had. Either you pay for Drew with your life, or you pay her five million!"
"Five million for Drew's life is letting her off cheap!"
Five million in damages? Was that what they were really after?
A chill crawled up my spine.
My face went white, and I couldn't stop shaking.
"Aunt Aileen, I feel for you, losing your son. But that doesn't give you the right to smear me."
"Drew and I weren't a match. I turned him down gently, and there was never a single harsh word between us, start to finish."
"If I'm guilty, let the law judge me. It isn't your place to decide."
Aileen ground her teeth.
"Look at her, everyone, look. A murderer, and she's threatening me, the victim's mother. Is there any justice?"
"There's nothing left for me. My son is gone. All I want is justice for him. What's wrong with that?"
Aileen wept as if her heart would break, and the crowd's sympathy swallowed the last of their doubt.
Someone flung a cup of hot coffee at me and snarled,
"Her son was humiliated to death by your words, so you killed him, didn't you? What's wrong with calling you a murderer?"
The scalding liquid soaked through my hair and my clothes in an instant.
More and more of them joined in.
"Nothing wrong with it, she's a murderer!"
"Murderer!"
Then buns, soy milk, eggs came down on me one after another, grease and scraps clinging all over me.
The curses surged in. People held up phones, filming, vowing to expose me, the "cold-blooded killer."
Seeing it, the Harding relatives swarmed forward, clawing at me, kicking and punching.
I couldn't fight back. I didn't last long before everything went black and I passed out.
