Chapter 4

“They found the Bennett family’s real daughter, huh? She’s gorgeous. Very ice-queen.”

The tips of my ears burned.

My old social anxiety nearly kicked in on the spot. I had to grip my skirt tight just to keep myself together. Still, I kept my face composed and walked in with a cool, calm expression.

Chloe immediately came over and linked her arm through mine, smiling like we were the closest sisters in the world.

“There you are, Nina. Let me introduce you to a few senior members from the literary association. It’ll help when you join later—people will look out for you.”

She guided me over to several men in suits, then softened her voice into something sugary and sweet.

“My sister writes a little on online platforms, but she’s still pretty unknown. I hope you’ll all take care of her in the future.”

A few of the board members looked me up and down, then curled their lips in faintly mocking smiles.

“Getting into the association takes real talent. A pretty face won’t do it.”

“Exactly. You can’t scribble a few lines and expect to get in. The bar isn’t that low.”

My fingertips tapped idly against the side of my glass.

I didn’t answer.

As they kept talking, the conversation shifted to the upcoming association president election.

Director Zanichelli sighed. “Chloe, your competitor’s Crossing the River has been dominating the charts for nearly a month. If you don’t come out with something new soon, that presidency may slip away.”

Chloe said nothing, but a girl beside her jumped in for her.

“Chloe’s planning to enter the Aurora Prize. If she wins gold, what does she have to worry about?”

Several board members shook their heads.

“That contest is brutal. Midnight Lantern is the only French-language writer who’s ever won gold. Most people can’t even make the shortlist.”

“We’ve invited Midnight Lantern to join the association more than once, and they’ve ignored us every time. Mysterious as hell. No one even knows if they’re a man or a woman.”

Listening to them made me sleepy.

I told Chloe I was going to the restroom, then turned and found an empty corner to sit down.

I pulled out my phone, opened my writing app, and kept working on the last bit of Darkwater.

At some point, Ethan sat down across from me.

He got straight to the point.

“Give Darkwater to Chloe. She’ll use it for the contest.”

My fingers stopped above the screen.

It felt like someone had closed a fist around my heart.

He knew better than anyone what Darkwater meant to me. I’d spent three years on it. It was the book I meant to take all the way to the Nobel.

When I first mapped out the outline, he’d stayed up with me through three all-nighters in a row, helping me work through the logic chapter by chapter.

The floating comments went insane.

[Here we go! She’s definitely going to use Darkwater as leverage to threaten him!]

[I bet she asks for something outrageous!]

I looked up at him.

My throat was dry, but my voice came out steady.

“No.”

Then I stood up and walked away.

My phone buzzed.

I glanced down.

[Ovest Institute of Letters: Your application has been approved. Please submit your enrollment documents by the 30th of this month.]

I stared at the message for several seconds.

The corner of my mouth moved faintly.

Without sparing Ethan—whose expression had already gone dark—a second glance, I turned and walked out of the ballroom.

4

That day, I was filling out paperwork at the visa center when a trending alert popped up on my phone:

#Chloe Bennett’s Darkwater Shortlisted for the Aurora Prize, Becoming Another French-Language Author to Break Through After Midnight Lantern#

I shot to my feet.

The documents in my hands scattered across the floor.

I ran out of the building, flagged down a cab, and went straight to the Bennett house.

The second I pushed open my door, I froze.

My computer had been smashed.

The motherboard, hard drive, keyboard—everything had been ripped apart and left in pieces. The monitor was shattered into a spiderweb of cracks, and even the hard drive had been bent.

I stood there shaking.

For the first time, even the floating comments changed tone.

[Okay, this time the male lead really went too far... He destroyed her computer for Chloe.]

[I’ve been dragging the villainess this whole time, but now I kind of feel bad for her.]

I pulled out my phone and called Summer, my throat tight.

“My computer’s destroyed. The source files for Darkwater were all on it. Find me the best data recovery expert you can—price doesn’t matter.”

The second I hung up, I grabbed another cab and headed for Starlight Media.

The receptionist tried to stop me. I went around her and kicked open the CEO’s office door.

Ethan was sitting in his leather chair. When he saw me, he actually lifted a brow.

I didn’t waste a word.

I walked up and slapped him across the face.

Crack.

His head snapped to the side. Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“You knew exactly what Darkwater meant to me.”

Ethan wiped the blood from his lip.

Then, unbelievably, he smiled.

His eyes were cold enough to make my skin crawl.