Slender fingers reached for an iPhone. The screen lit up, showing a lock screen photo: two young women grinning at the camera, each holding a bright pink cosmo.

The brunette to the right was Sasha—Lara's best friend.

They'd met at university and clicked instantly. From their first conversation, they were inseparable—always by each other's side, and when apart, constantly texting. But tonight, Sasha's last message sat unanswered since morning, and Lara couldn't bring herself to tell her anything.

Lara was on Sasha's left, arm draped over her shoulders. Her long, golden-blond and perfectly straight hair fell down her back, catching the sun. Her round blue eyes sparkled with life, and her wide smile revealed a perfect row of white teeth. Both women glowed with summer tans.

The clock read 3 a.m.

Lara groaned and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She'd been lying there for hours, tossing and turning, hoping to find a position that would lull her to sleep. Instead, all she found was a growing headache.

"Your brother is a rapist."

The sentence replayed in her mind like a curse. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Daniel's face—his gaze locking with hers through the thick glass of the prison's visitation room.

She sat up. The bedroom was bathed in darkness, but the faint glow of a streetlamp slipped through the blinds, casting pale light across her white desk and the chaotic stack of books and papers. A major assignment sat there. Still unwritten.

Scooting to the edge of the bed, she reached for her laptop on the nightstand. Lying back down with a defeated sigh, she powered it on.

Daniel was trying to mess with her head, but she wasn't going to let him. A simple Google search would prove him wrong. Her brother wouldn't hurt anyone. Not like that.

And then what? She would throw it in Daniel's face?

No, that would be a waste of time. Something that'd only feed his ego. He didn't deserve the satisfaction. This wasn't about him. It was about Bradley. She just needed to clear her brother's name.

She opened a new window in her browser and typed: Bradley Henderson rape.

The first result was an old Reddit post. A deleted user had started a thread titled 'did you know these details about the Bradley Henderson murder?'.

Lara clicked.

The post linked to a video claiming to reveal exclusive details. She followed the link.

YouTube opened in a new tab. The video was posted by a smaller channel called Facts of Murder, with around 100 000 subscribers. It hadn't gained much traction since its release.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Oh my god, oh my god."

"Ma'am, what's the emergency?"

"This kid — oh my god, h-he picked up a pipe and— and oh my god, he's murdering the guy!"

Lara flinched as if slapped. She paused the video. Her heart was pounding.

Abruptly, she sat up, clutching her stomach. Vomit climbed up her throat. She shoved the laptop aside, ready to bolt to the bathroom, but after a few deep breaths, the nausea subsided.

She skipped ahead. She couldn't bring herself to hear the full thing.

The female narrator returned, recounting the events in unsettling detail. She referenced the autopsy, but Lara didn't learn much from it. Her brother died from blunt forced trauma. That much she'd already known.

"The assailant was a thirteen-year-old boy named Daniel Navarro. Not much is known about him aside from the school he attended. There's little I could find or verify," the narrator said, flashing a mugshot of a boy who looked even younger than thirteen. His soulless brown eyes stared out from the screen. "But what we do know is his stated motive. Daniel claimed the victim had sexually assaulted his sixteen-year-old sister, which, he said, led to her suicide. I have to emphasize: this assault is alleged. There's no proof it took place. The girl had never filed a report. There was no investigation, no arrest. However, I was able to confirm that Daniel's sister did, in fact, take her own life the morning of the murder."

A deep frown creased Lara's face. She could almost hear her mother warning her it would cause her wrinkles.

She inhaled slowly. Daniel believed it had happened. But there was no proof. No evidence. Her brother died because of an accusation? One she knew was false, at that. Bradley respected women. He would never have assaulted a teenager.

"After announcing I'd be covering this case," the narrator continued, "a woman reached out, claiming she went to high school with Bradley. She described him as, quote, 'a spoilt douchebag who treated everyone but his friends like second class citizens'. She said he couldn't take 'no' for an answer, and that, sadly, he had assaulted her. She claims he was expelled for it.

Again, this is her story— an allegation. I confirmed her identity and that she had attended school with Bradley. I even called the school, but of course, they wouldn't disclose anything. According to her, the matter was handled privately. Whether you believe it or not is up to you… but it seems to be a recurring accusation."

Lara rolled her eyes. Unverified gossip. Clout-chasers always came out of the woodwork in cases like this.

"Daniel was tried as an adult. He pleaded guilty, sparing the victim's family a trial. He was sentenced to ten years—five in a youth detention center, the remainder in Ashmore Prison.

And that is the case of Bradley Henderson's murder. What do you guys think? Was the sentence too lenient? Do you believe the victim assaulted those girls? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you in the next one."

In a deafening silence, Lara stared at the screen. Slowly, she scrolled to the comment section.

momsspaghetti: Why is this kid in jail? He took a rapist out. He should be free.

imallpointyears: For real. Cops don't do shit in these cases. At least he did something to protect people.

Wombait: Wild take to condone murder.

imallpointyears: @Wombait Sorry, darling, rapists don't deserve to walk around free.

factsnotopinions27: So he brutally murdered someone and only got 10 years? Our justice system is a joke.

wewereonabreak: He was a kid? It wasn't premeditated? He snapped because this dude raped his sister?

factsnotopinions27: He was thirteen, not a kid. He knew what he was doing. At that age, you know better.

wewereonabreak: No, you don't. Your brain isn't developed yet. Literal science.

factsnotopinions27: There's no proof these rapes even happened. Yeah, I'm sorry his sister is dead, but you can't just go around beating people to death, because you THINK something happened.

wewereonabreak: It's always believe the victims until the victim is POC and the perpetrator is a good looking white boy.

factsnotopinions27: No, it's believe the evidence, none of which is here. Just rumors.

wewereonabreak: Then, tell me, why would she lie to her younger brother and then kill herself?

Juliana_D: This is such a tragic case. Three lives ruined. I wish the girl got the help she needed. Maybe none of this would've happened.

Lara slammed the laptop shut and tossed it to the far end of the bed.

She stood and began pacing, hands clenched into fists. These people didn't know Bradley. They'd never met Daniel. And yet, they acted like experts, throwing around opinions like they'd been there.

Her brother didn't deserve this. She was certain he'd never been expelled. The only time they'd changed schools was—

She stopped mid-step.

They had moved in the middle of Bradley's sophomore year.