Chapter 4

I walked into the guest room and looked over the shelves.

The shelves were lined with custom mugs and merchandise from various publishing platforms. None of them had my pen name printed openly.

I glanced toward the back. A limited-edition figurine had been moved out of place. On the bottom of its base, in gold foil lettering: J. Nova.

I'd taken that figurine from my study and planted it in the guest room earlier, while Linda and Casey were busy toasting each other.

Linda hadn't just found it. She'd photographed it and posted it in the group.

I opened my phone and saw the latest reply.

[OP LLLIN: Found it! Turns out she's actually a pretty famous author! Ha—she NEVER bragged about being this big!]

[FFFYEP: Move fast! Check her novels, see what we can use!]

A few minutes later, Linda updated again, practically vibrating with glee.

[OP LLLIN: Got it! She's got this thriller from a few years back where the main character takes revenge for a girl who jumped to her death. The MC steals corporate secrets and basically destroys the company!]

[Y: Beautiful! Say she wrote this with intent—she's joining the company to steal information!]

[OP LLLIN: Yes! And I can pull passages where she describes how to get around internal audits, bundle them up, send the whole thing anonymously to HR! Let's see her start that job now!]

[OP LLLIN: I'm sending the email the morning she starts. Getting fired your first day has gotta hurt more than just not getting the job, right?]

[FFFYEP: SAVAGE. Twist the knife.]

[OP LLLIN: Not just that. I'm gonna wait outside her office for her to come out crying. Follow me, I'll livestream her sobbing her eyes out.]

The replies erupted in cheers. Lots of people said they couldn't wait.

Honestly, I was a little curious too—how many more tricks did she have up her sleeve, all in the name of taking me down?

Casey came over and pulled me close.

"Jessica, what's wrong? You don't look good."

"I'm fine, Casey. Can I borrow your phone for a sec?"

I needed to use Casey's phone to screen-record every comment under the post.

"Of course, baby."

Casey handed me his phone and kissed my forehead.

"I'll get you some water. You've just been working too hard."

Casey left. I unlocked his phone, and a single message stopped me dead.

[There's a figurine with Jessica's pen name on the base. Either in the study or the guest room. Why do you need it? Don't tell her I told you.]