“Get out of the vehicle.”
“On what grounds?”
“I said get out.”
She could see it now, clear as day — this wasn’t about a traffic stop anymore. This was about two men who’d pulled over a young woman alone on an empty road and decided they didn’t like that she wasn’t scared. She’d seen this pattern before, more times than she wanted to count. It never ended well when you let it keep going unchecked.
She reached for her phone, meaning to turn on the camera, more out of habit than fear. Before she could even unlock the screen, the second officer yanked her door open and grabbed her wrist.
“Put the phone away. Now.”
“Don’t touch me,” Victoria said, sharp now, no longer calm exactly but not panicked either — just firm, the voice of someone who knew precisely what was happening and precisely how far outside the law it had already gone. “You are exceeding your authority.”
