I collapsed to my knees during an asthma attack, fighting for air while my younger sister held my inhaler just out of reach. She smirked and said, “Gasp, loser.” My parents stood by and did nothing. Today, in court, when the judge said, “Before we begin, let’s watch a family video,” she started shaking—and then screaming.

The real breaking point didn’t come until nineteen years later, inside a Seattle courtroom.

Camille had filed a defamation lawsuit against a coworker named Julia Ramirez, claiming Julia fabricated stories about being bullied at work. I wouldn’t have been involved at all if Julia hadn’t written one chilling line on her blog: “Ask her sister about the asthma incident. Ask why their family spent years making sure no one believed her.”

No one outside my family should’ve known about that day.

And no one outside my family should’ve known how thoroughly they erased my voice afterward.

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