Chapter 5 - The Social Media Smear
Elena made bail three days later, entirely funded by a predatory bail bondsman. Knowing she was cornered, she reverted to the only weapon narcissists have left: playing the victim in the court of public opinion.
She went on Facebook Live from a cheap motel room. Her hair was messy, her makeup expertly smudged to look like she had been crying for days.
“My husband came back from deployment entirely changed,” Elena sobbed to the camera, the video quickly racking up thousands of views in our local community groups. “He suffers from severe PTSD. He held me at gunpoint, threw my elderly parents into the snow, and kidnapped his mother, who desperately needs psychiatric help. Please, if anyone knows a good lawyer who works pro bono, I fear for my life.”
My phone blew up with messages from angry neighbors and extended family members who had bought into her tearful performance.
My commanding officer, Colonel Vance, called me into his office at the base. “Major, you’re making waves. Your wife is painting you as a violent, unhinged veteran on the internet. Do I need to initiate a psych evaluation?”
I pulled a flash drive from my pocket and placed it on his desk. “Sir. That drive contains the security footage of my wife assaulting my mother, the toxicology report proving she was poisoning her with tranquilizers, and the federal indictments against her and her parents for wire fraud.”
May you like
The Colonel plugged the drive into his computer. He watched the video in dead silence. When he looked up, his eyes were pure ice.
“Understood, Major,” Colonel Vance said, handing the drive back. “I’ll have the base public affairs office issue a quiet, factual statement to the local press regarding her federal charges. Let’s see how many likes her video gets when the local news broadcasts her mugshot.”
