VICTORIA: "I know that I don't owe you two thousand dollars."
The words had barely left her mouth when Miller leaned farther into the open window.
His face was now close enough that Victoria could see the small lines around his eyes.
GRANT: "You'd better be careful about how you speak to me."
VICTORIA: "I'm speaking to you respectfully. I'm asking you to explain the reason for this stop."
GRANT: "And I'm telling you to cooperate."
He glanced at the handbag again.
GRANT: "Get your purse."
Victoria did not move.
VICTORIA: "No."
It was a quiet answer, but it changed the atmosphere immediately.
Miller straightened.
For a moment, he simply stared at her, as though he could not believe that someone sitting in a luxury car had refused an instruction from a police officer.
Then he leaned against the door again.
GRANT: "You might want to think carefully before you make your next decision."
Victoria swallowed.
She had never imagined that a simple drive home could turn into a confrontation like this. She was alone on the roadside, separated from the rest of the world by the metal frame of her car, with a police officer controlling the space around her.
She could see passing vehicles in the distance.
None of them slowed down.
VICTORIA: "I haven't done anything to deserve this."
GRANT: "That's not for you to decide."
VICTORIA: "Then tell me what the charge is."
Miller's face hardened.
GRANT: "I don't have time for this."
He reached toward the open window.
Victoria instinctively moved back.
GRANT: "Open your purse."
VICTORIA: "I'm not handing you my money."
GRANT: "I didn't ask you to hand me your opinion."
He reached farther into the vehicle, attempting to take hold of the handbag beside her.
Victoria pulled it toward herself.
The movement was sudden, and the bag caught briefly against the center console.
VICTORIA: "Don't touch my things!"
Miller's expression changed from irritation to anger.
He withdrew his arm, then leaned into the window again, placing one hand against the inside of the door as he crowded her space.
GRANT: "Get out of the attitude and give me the money."
VICTORIA: "No. If you believe I've broken the law, you can explain it and follow the proper procedure."
Miller looked at her as though she had deliberately insulted him.
Behind him, Officer Brooks began walking closer.
He had heard the raised voices and noticed that Miller was no longer conducting what looked like an ordinary roadside conversation.
BROOKS: "Everything all right over here?"
Miller did not turn around.
GRANT: "I've got it under control."
Brooks stopped a short distance behind him.
His eyes moved from Miller to Victoria, who was sitting rigidly in the driver's seat with her handbag held close against her body.
BROOKS: "What's going on?"
GRANT: "She isn't cooperating."
VICTORIA: "He's demanding two thousand dollars from me."
The statement was clear enough to make Brooks pause.
He looked directly at Miller.
BROOKS: "Two thousand dollars?"
GRANT: "Stay out of it, Ethan."
BROOKS: "I'm asking what she means."
Miller turned toward his colleague, irritation spreading across his face.
GRANT: "I said I've got it under control."
For a moment, the two officers stared at one another.
Victoria recognized that something had shifted. Brooks did not look comfortable with what he was witnessing, but she could not tell whether he would actually intervene.
She loosened one hand from the handbag and reached toward the center console, where her smartphone lay beside a charging cable.
Miller noticed the movement.
GRANT: "What are you doing?"
VICTORIA: "Getting my phone."
GRANT: "Put it down."
VICTORIA: "I have the right to call someone."
GRANT: "I told you to put it down."
Victoria picked up the phone anyway.
She had begun to understand that remaining silent would not make the situation safer. The officer had already demanded money, attempted to take her purse, and refused to explain the reason for the stop.
She needed help.
Her thumb moved across the screen, but before she could complete the call, Miller reached through the open window again.
This time, he grabbed her wrist.
Victoria gasped and tried to pull away.
VICTORIA: "Let go of me!"
GRANT: "Give me the phone!"
VICTORIA: "You're hurting me!"
Miller tightened his grip and leaned farther inside the vehicle. His shoulder pressed against the window frame as he tried to control her movement.
Victoria struggled to free her wrist.
The phone slipped from her fingers and landed on the seat between them.