Chapter 251

The following morning, Carmen was shoved out of her home with a grocery list in hand, courtesy of her stepmother's shrill commands. "We can't even leave the house because of you!" the woman yelled from the doorway. "Everywhere we go, people point and whisper, all thanks to your shameless ways!" Carmen froze on the front steps, already bracing for the worst. Her stepmother wasn't done. "If you had an ounce of self-respect, you'd disappear! Better yet, just die and spare this family the disgrace!" "I didn't do it!" Carmen shouted back, her voice raw. "Those pictures and videos are fake! None of them is real!" But the words fell flat, drowned out by years of the same accusations. Carmen could recite the next part by heart. No one believed her. Lies told often enough became the truth. She trudged out onto the street, her stepmother's yells still echoing in her ears. But when she looked up, Carmen froze. The walls in the hallway, which had been covered with those damnin