Chapter 5

“Things are already where they are,” he said. “My advice? Don’t make this ugly. I’ll give you four million dollars as compensation, and on top of that—”

He leaned forward in his chair.

“Before I smashed the computer, I wiped the hard drive. If you try anything, I’ve got plenty of ways to make sure you never work in online publishing again.”

I stared at him for several long seconds.

Like I was looking at a complete stranger.

I didn’t argue. I didn’t make a scene.

I just turned around and walked out.

When I got back to the Bennett house, the living room was lively.

Ethan’s parents were sitting on the couch, holding Chloe’s hand and smiling so hard the lines around their faces deepened.

“Our family is honored to have such an accomplished daughter-in-law.”

Chloe looked up and saw me. Panic flashed through her eyes for a split second, but she quickly put that sweet smile back on.

I gave a small nod—enough to count as a greeting—and went straight upstairs.

The broken pieces of the computer were still spread across my desk.

Ethan had given me that computer.

He’d said that since I spent all day staring at a screen and typing, using something from him would make me think of him more often.

I stood there looking at the spiderweb cracks on the shattered monitor for a long time.

Whatever was left in my heart finally went cold.

The door opened.

Chloe leaned against the frame, smiling with open arrogance.

“Ethan told me everything. So what if you two knew each other before? In the end, he still chose me.

He said only someone like me is fit to be Mrs. Pierce. You’ll never belong in that world.”

I couldn’t even be bothered to look at her.

I stuffed all the broken computer parts into a backpack.

As I passed her, I stopped for half a second.

“That world of yours? I don’t want it.”

When I got to Summer’s studio, Ivy Lindsay was there too.

The same award-winning actress who’d lent me that couture gown.

She’d starred in the first adaptation of one of my novels, back when she wasn’t famous yet. That show had made her an overnight sensation.

After that, I’d named her as my first choice for every adaptation, and step by step, I’d helped push her into the top tier.

The second she saw me come in, she handed me a hot milk tea.

“Don’t panic. The hacker I found is the best in the business. We’ll get it back.”

Less than half an hour later, the hacker handed over a flash drive.

“The hard drive was only physically damaged. I recovered all the source files.

Every revision history, every timestamp is intact. I even pulled the backed-up cloud chat logs.”

Ivy gripped her phone so hard she looked ready to crack it.

“I’m posting right now. One statement from me and my followers will bury her alive.”

I shook my head.

“No rush. Let her win the gold award first. I want the truth to come out while she’s standing on the stage.”

Ivy paused for a beat, then smiled.

“Confident in your work, huh?”

Beside her, Summer lifted a brow.

“Of course she is. She’s Midnight Lantern.”

A week later, the Aurora Prize announced its gold award winner:

Chloe Bennett.

The internet exploded.

But the day of the award ceremony was also the day I was supposed to report to the European Institute of Letters.

After packing my luggage, I told Summer, “You go to the ceremony. I’ll post the evidence from Midnight Lantern’s account. We do it at the same time.”

On the day of the ceremony, I was sitting at the airport waiting to board, watching the livestream on my phone.

Onscreen, Chloe stood at the podium in a diamond-studded couture gown, holding the gold trophy and crying delicately for the cameras.

“Darkwater was something I poured three years of my life into, one word at a time. Thank you, everyone...”

The next second, Summer stood up in the audience holding a flash drive.

“I’d like to report plagiarism. Chloe Bennett’s submission, Darkwater, was stolen from another writer.”

I watched the livestream on my screen.

My thumb opened the post I’d drafted in advance. Attached were the source files, timestamps, revision records, and every screenshot of the conversations Ethan and I had once had while discussing the outline for Darkwater.

The caption was only five words:

I am Midnight Lantern.

Post.

The second I hit send, the airport announcement came on overhead.

“Flight ZR3287 to Paris is now boarding. Passengers, please proceed to Gate 3.”

I stood up and picked up my bag.

My phone started vibrating like crazy in my pocket.

Caller ID:

Ethan Pierce.