Liability

Liability-noun. A person or thing whose presence or behavior is likely to cause embarrassment or put one at a disadvantage.

Victoria Ariana Haddad has always believed survival comes at a cost. Born in Arabia and the eldest of six, she learned early to be careful-careful with words, with space, with love. At thirteen, she moves to the United States; at eighteen, she moves to New York City, chasing a dream she can barely name: a life in music.
She finds it in the orchestra pit of Aladdin, flute in hand, hidden beneath the stage. Safe. Controlled. Invisible.
Until the night a car accident leaves her best friend, Annarose Mann, paralyzed and permanently injured, while Victoria walks away physically unscathed-but loses her voice. The guilt is immediate, unbearable. She turns to sign language, shrinking her presence in a city that suddenly feels too loud, too sharp. Every success feels borrowed, every mistake proof that she is what she has always feared-a liability: a burden, a danger to those she loves.
As Annarose rebuilds her life, Victoria retreats into silence, music, and grief, confronting faith, responsibility, and the weight of survival. Liability is a story about friendship reshaped by tragedy, the fragility of trust, and the question Victoria must face: if living fully can harm others, what does it truly cost to exist?