The elegant woman pointed accusingly at Sophie.
"She stole my purse!"
Several guests immediately raised their smartphones.
Some began recording.
Others whispered among themselves.
A few even shook their heads in disappointment.
One man muttered,
"Kids these days..."
Sophie burst into tears.
She hugged the sequined purse tightly against her chest.
"It's not yours."
The woman gasped in outrage.
"What did you say?"
Sophie's voice trembled.
"When I found it..."
"It already wasn't with you."
Nobody seemed interested in listening.
The crowd had already decided who was guilty.
Hotel security hurried toward the hallway.
Sophie's grandmother arrived moments later after hearing the shouting.
She looked horrified.
"My granddaughter would never steal."
The woman laughed coldly.
"Every thief says that."
Sophie kept crying.
"I wasn't stealing."
"I was trying to help."
Still...
Very few people believed her.