My Blind Son, the Peeping Tom?!

One week after moving into my new home, my neighbor, Penny Halpern, suddenly knocks on my door and claims that my son, Benedict Geller, has been spying on her daughter, Monica Ritter, when the latter is bathing. "I saw everything with my own eyes! Every day, he'd cling to the windowsill and spy on me when I'm bathing! He even took pictures of me with a camera! "I'm so scared! Who knows what he's doing with those pictures? That boy really is disgusting!" Penny and Monica threaten me to call the police on Benedict if I don't pay them soon. Feeling rather puzzled, I just kick them out of my apartment. Unexpectedly, Penny summons all the neighbors in the residential area over to my place the next day. They all gather outside my door and begin insulting us at the top of their lungs. "Hey, pervert! Get out here and apologize to the victim!" "Take that perverted son of yours and leave this place! We want peace to be returned to our neighborhood!" When I tune the neighbors out, they begin smashing everything they can see at my front door. So, I can only call the police. When the police arrive, I bring Benedict out of the apartment before taking his sunglasses off. "Officer, I'd like to ask just how can my son spy on others, in this case?" Chapter 1 Someone was banging on my front door early in the morning. "Mia! Tell that peeping Tom son of yours to come out and apologize to my daughter right now! I can't imagine what horrors he'll pull if he's already secretly watching my daughter while she's in the shower at such a young age!" I frowned and looked out the window. As expected, my neighbor, Penny Halpern, was standing at my front doorstep once again with her daughter, Monica Ritter. We'd only just moved in a week ago, but Penny had banged on my front door fiendishly late last night and accused my son, Benedict Geller, of peeping at Monica in the shower from his window. I raised Benedict myself. I knew he'd never do something like this, but Monica's red-rimmed, tear-filled eyes suggested otherwise. "I saw him staring at me, and he even snapped pictures of me with his camera! I thought I'd been mistaken at first, then I found out he did this every day! It's creeping me out!" she wailed. Penny comforted Monica, then turned to me and demanded compensation. "Tell your son to apologize to Monica right now, and pay me 100 thousand dollars as a settlement. If not, we'll let the cops take over. This will be a permanent stain in your son's life!" 100 thousand dollars? I snorted, then promptly chased Penny and Monica out of my house and closed the door. I didn't think they'd turn up again that day, and this time, they'd brought back-up. I recognized them at first glance as the other neighbors. They swarmed my front door, blocking the entryway. "Protecting her kid even after he's messed up. Talk about shameless!" "If he's peeping at this age, who's to say he won't set fires and commit murder when he grows up?" "Take your pervert of a son and get the hell out of this neighborhood, lady! We want some peace and safety around here." I wished I could ignore them, but to my bewilderment, they began to pound on my door. They even smashed the ornaments and destroyed the flowers I kept by the door! I'd pruned and tended to those flowers for five whole years. It took me a lot of work to move them here from my last house. Furious, I quickly called the police, then opened the door. "I've already called the cops and recorded your vandalism. I hope you're ready to pay damages after this!" My appearance only fanned the flames of their rage. "You dare to make us pay after you knowingly protected a peeping Tom? "Tell your son to come out and apologize right now, then get the hell out of our neighborhood! You're not welcome here!" I didn't shrink back and instead leveled an angry finger at Penny and Monica. "My son would never peep at anyone! They're lying!" Monica broke down in tears when she heard this. "Mrs. Geller, all I want is an apology! Why are you being so hard on us? I'm the victim here, yet you'll have me prove my innocence?" She cried harder as she spoke, and Penny immediately pulled her into her arms. "My poor daughter. It's terrible that she's forced to deal with such an unreasonable family after she was peeped at and secretly photographed! "We don't even know where those photos were leaked! She's only 14. How will she cope if this leaves her traumatized for life?" The neighbors grew even more righteous in their anger when they saw Penny's and Monica's pitiful act, turning on me. "Quit pointing fingers, lady! Monica grew up in our area. She'd never lie!" "Get your son to apologize! If not, we'll barge in and grab him ourselves!" Some of them were already jostling me. I reached for the broomstick I'd readied in advance and struck the doorframe, the loud thud cutting above the noise. "Everything requires proof. You claim my son is a peeping Tom, so prove it. Until then, none of you is entering my house today!" Chaprer 2 Stunned by my aggressive stance, the neighbors fell silent. But that lasted only for a moment, for Monica burst into tears. "The camera is proof! The man was taking photos of me with his camera! My photos must be inside!" Penny took her daughter's side right away. "Exactly! There must be a camera in your son's room. Go on, I dare you to take it out and let us have a look!" "There's not a single camera in my house." I frowned. Benedict couldn't possibly use a camera, and I wasn't a photography lover. We never bought a camera. "Well, I won't believe you unless you let us in and search your house!" They had already destroyed my flowers by the front door. I would be a fool to let them into the house and cause more damage. "No. You're not the cops and have no authority to do this." I raised the broomstick, refusing to let them through. As we stood off against one another, Monica suddenly screamed, "Mom! Someone put my photos up on the internet!" Penny quickly grabbed Monica's phone, then angrily showed me the screen. "See for yourself! Judging by the angle, the photo was taken from your house!" The photo was, indeed, of a nude body in the shower. At first glance, the angle was very similar to the one outside Benedict's window. But after scanning the photo, I shook my head and denied it. "No, my son couldn't have taken that photo." "Why are you still in denial?" Penny took the phone back, raising her voice. "My daughter's naked photos are on the internet, and you're still defending him? Monica's whole life will be ruined if these photos start to spread! "If you're defending your son now, he'll grow up and commit bigger crimes! You're enabling him!" Tears began to roll down Penny's face as she spoke, looking at the neighbors as if this were an interactive stage play. She sobbed, "I feel so useless as a mother! All I want is an apology after finding out that my daughter's privacy has been violated! I just want to do right by her, and I've failed at that…" At the sight of this, the neighbors' sense of justice rose to the surface as they fixed me with disgusted, furious looks. One of them vowed, "We'll drag that punk out by his ear and make him remove those photos and apologize today!" Before he finished speaking, he charged toward me, reaching for the broomstick in my hand. I gripped it stubbornly, refusing to let go, but I was no match for him. With a hard shove, he sent me staggering backward. The rest of them pounced on me the next second. Someone was pulling my arm, and others were jostling my back. It was one against many, and it didn't take long for them to fell me. The back of my head hit the edge of the shoe cabinet, the pain sharp and surprising. "Go in and find that brat!" They stormed into my house like a pack of feral, rabid beasts. The moment they stepped past the threshold, they made a beeline for Benedict's room. But Benedict wasn't home. I'd dropped him off at my parents' place after Dad said he wanted to see Benedict yesterday. When the neighbors didn't see Benedict, they began to ransack the drawers and cabinets in his room in a frantic search for proof that he was peeping at Monica. "I told you, we don't have a camera at home! Stop rummaging!" I yelled, wanting to rush forward to stop them. However, I was held firmly in place by a few of the neighbors. At that moment, Penny suddenly held up a black digital camera and shouted, "I found it! This is the proof she wanted!" Chapter 3 Penny waved the camera in the air and turned it on in front of everyone. All the photos in storage were of Monica, taken from the same angle. "See? These are all sneaky shots of my daughter!" Penny held up the camera to my face. "Here's the undeniable proof you asked for. What do you have to say about it?" The neighbors egged her on. "He's crossed a line! We need to teach that creep a lesson!" "There's a fine line between loving your kid and spoiling him. You may allow his depravity now, but society won't!" "You'd better get your son to come home now and apologize for his crime!" Penny wiped her tears, interjecting, "If you delete these photos and compensate us, we can move on from this. I don't want this to get out, either… But if you refuse, I'll take your son to court!" Some of the neighbors praised Penny for her generosity and kindness. I, on the other hand, found this entire exchange hilarious. "This camera doesn't belong to my son. We've never had a camera in the house." Furious at my firm denial, Penny stormed up to me and slapped me hard across the face. "You call yourself a human after spewing such lies? You don't think I love and protect Monica just as you do your son? Why do you insist on protecting someone so evil!?" My cheek stung from the slap, but I didn't hesitate to return the favor. "I told you, my son would never do something like this. Besides, I've never seen that camera before. "I've already called my son. He'll be home soon. If you don't believe me, feel free to wait for him here." Penny cupped her face and eyed me with disbelief, probably wondering where I got my audacity from. Then, she plopped down on the floor and wailed, "What have Monica and I done to deserve this? I can see where that creep gets his nerve from—his unreasonable mother!" The neighbors admonished me, but I only snorted. "Quit the act. The cops will be here soon. We'll let them determine whether the camera belongs to my son." Penny blanched a little at this. I saw a vicious look flash in her eyes before her hand darted out and grabbed my face. "Confess and compensate, or we'll strip you and take photos of you! See how you'll like it when your modesty is on full display!" She'd just said this when she reached for my collar with her free hand, giving it a rough tug. A ripping sound filled the air as she tore the seams of my collar, revealing my bra. Everyone went still. Some gasped, but others stayed silent. I was pinned in place by a few people and couldn't move my limbs. I could only struggle wildly while crying out for help, "Stop! This is against the law! Let me go!" Someone grew uneasy at this turn of events and stepped in. "Hey, maybe this isn't a good idea. Her son's the peeping Tom, not her. Surely we don't have to go this far…" Penny whipped her head around to glare at the person who spoke, but quickly switched back to her victim act as she appealed to the crowd, "I don't want to have to do this, either! But she's being too unreasonable! "All I want is an apology for Monica! If this lady would just apologize and admit her son's wrongdoing, I wouldn't have to resort to such extreme measures! She made me!" Monica wasted no time in chiming in. "Mom was only looking out for me and protecting me! She was willing to become the villain for me! I won't blame her for doing this!" As Penny and Monica continued their two-woman show, they managed to earn another round of sympathy from some of the neighbors. "This lady's the one who chose to defend her creepy son. If she'd apologized sooner, we would have backed off!" "She just needs a taste of her own medicine and a hard lesson to know how the victim feels!" Gradually, the voices supporting Penny and Monica began to drown out the protests in my favor. Penny cracked a smug smile, her claws digging harder into my face. Just as I was about to lose hope, someone suddenly shouted, "The cops are here!" Chapter 4 Penny paused and glared at me menacingly. A few police officers entered the house and frowned at the mess on the floor. "What's all this, then? What are you all doing?" I had to give Penny credit for her lightning-fast improvisation. She grabbed Monica by the arm and walked over to the officers, her expression despondent and angry. "Officers, this lady's son has been peeping at my daughter while she's in the shower. He even took photos of her and put them up on the internet! You must help us!" As she spoke, she wiped her tears, the perfect portrait of a mother heartbroken by her daughter's suffering. Monica immediately curled up in Penny's arms, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed dramatically. Seeing this, the neighbors around us began to interject with their accounts, their voices overlapping as they hurled accusations at me. "It's true, officers! That lady's son is a pervert! He peeps at this poor young lady while she's in the shower, then takes photos of her!" "It's despicable! And his mom isn't helping by defending him! We can't get her to see sense!" "We even found proof of his crime! The cameras are in his room, yet she's still denying his involvement!" Monica was still sobbing away as the neighbors spoke up for her. The police officers surveyed the room. "So, where's the young man in question?" "He's not home. I bet he hid out of guilt! But his mom's here." Penny pointed at me. "This woman's a liar who'll say anything to protect her son!" I rolled my eyes and straightened my clothes. "Officers, I'm the one who made a report. She barged into my house with a group in tow and ransacked my belongings. How different is that from outright burglary?" The police glanced at me, then at Penny, before frowning. "One at a time, ladies. Tell us what happened." After hearing the whole story, the police officers checked the photos in the camera. "Well, the photos were taken from this angle, alright. The timestamp also shows that the photos were taken the last couple of nights." "But I've never even seen this camera, officers! Could you run a forensic test on the camera and the fingerprints on it?" Penny began to look anxious. "Is that necessary? Your son could have bought the camera behind your back if you had never seen it. And gloves could have easily prevented him from leaving his fingerprints on the camera!" One of the police officers got a little impatient and rapped his knuckles against the table. "Quit squabbling, you two! For the sake of getting to the bottom of this, I'll need both of you to come down to the station with me. We'll send the camera in for forensic testing, too." Upon hearing that she'd have to go to the police station, Penny groused, "Do we have to go to the station, officers? My daughter's the victim here. She's traumatized enough as it is… "Besides, the creep in question isn't even home yet! Shouldn't you arrest him first?" I objected at once, "What difference will my son's return make? He'd never do something like this, to begin with. Don't kid yourself!" The police officer turned to ask me, "When's your son getting home?" I was about to answer when a familiar voice sounded outside the room. "Mom, I'm home! Where are you?" Startled, I bolted out of the room. "I'm here!" I hurried forward to take Benedict's hand, the rest of the neighbors quickly falling in step behind me. Penny immediately cried when she saw Benedict, "The peeping Tom's finally home! You there, apologize to my daughter!" The neighbors swarmed us like sharks, ready to snap their jaws. "Delete those photos and apologize to the young lady right now!" "Officers, you must arrest this young man and teach him a lesson behind bars!" Benedict was lost upon hearing the admonishment. Looking bewildered, he asked, "Peeping Tom? What do you all mean by that?" One of the police officers approached Benedict. "They found this camera in your room, and in it are many photos of the young lady living across from your window, taken while she was in the shower. Did you do this?" With a shake of his head, Benedict countered, "How could I possibly do something like that?" Penny seethed at him, "You little creep! Like mother, like son! We found your camera, young man. That's irrefutable evidence of your crime! Are you still going to deny it?" The police officers took on a terse tone with Benedict as well. "We'll consider letting you off on a lighter punishment if you confess, young man." Benedict froze, confusion blooming across his face. A beat later, he took off his shades, revealing a pair of milky-gray eyes that didn't register anything. "But I was born blind, everyone."