**The Perfect Victim**
Sophia's
performance was almost perfect.
She clutched her wrist and cried while several shoppers rushed toward
her.
"She attacked me," she whispered.
A woman knelt beside her.
"Are you hurt?"
"I think so."
Sophia looked toward Emily.
The pregnant woman was still on the marble floor, both hands wrapped around
her stomach.
She couldn't even speak.
"Someone call an ambulance!" a man shouted.
Two people helped Sophia stand.
She immediately pointed toward Emily.
"She pushed me first."
The statement spread through the crowd.
Emily tried to shake her head.
"No..."
But the pain was too intense.
A nurse who happened to be nearby rushed toward her.
"Don't move."
"Is the baby okay?" Emily whispered.
"We're going to find out."
Sophia watched carefully.
She expected everyone to believe her.
Most did.
But Lily didn't.
The little girl stood beside an ice cream cart.
Chocolate ice cream was melting down her fingers.
Her eyes never left Sophia.
Lily had seen the first push.
She had also seen something nobody else had noticed.
Before Sophia attacked Emily...
Sophia had looked directly toward the security camera above the
fountain.
Why?
That question would become the first real clue.
Within minutes, mall security arrived.
The crowd was pushed backward.
An ambulance was called.
Emily was placed onto a stretcher.
Sophia continued crying.
But when nobody was looking...
Her tears stopped.
She glanced toward the security camera.
Then toward Lily.
Their eyes met.
Sophia's expression changed.
For a fraction of a second, the frightened victim disappeared.
Something cold replaced it.
Lily immediately grabbed her mother's hand.
"Mommy..."
"What is it?"
"That lady is lying."
Her mother looked toward Sophia.
"Are you sure?"
Lily nodded.
"I saw what she did."
But before she could explain further...
Sophia walked toward them.
And smiled.
