chapter 11
And then, one night, my alt buzzed.
leslie.unfiltered_alt has started a live video.
It was almost two in the morning, but my stomach told me to tap in.
Her face filled the screen.
Or what was left of the face everyone knew.
The lighting was harsh, the camera angle unflattering. Without filters, glam, or editing, she looked raw and human—and terrified.
“It was me,” she blurted, eyes darting. “Okay? It was me. I stole your ideas, Zeph. Are you happy? I’m saying it. I’m saying it out loud. I’m sorry. Just… please. Let me go. I can’t sleep. I feel like something is sitting on my chest. I don’t know what you did, but I’m sorry.”
The chat exploded.
Who is she talking to??
Did she just say she stole someone’s content??
IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ZEPHANY??
She went quiet for a moment, like she was listening to something nobody else could hear.
Then she snapped.
“Why?” she shouted suddenly, eyes going wide. “Why do you get everything? Huh?”
Her voice cracked.
“You had a million followers. You had brands throwing money at you. You had Gavin. Do you know how long I’ve liked him? Since high school. He used to walk past my locker and never look twice. Then you show up with your stupid ring light and your perfect skin and your soft little voice and suddenly the whole world is obsessed with you.”
She laughed, high and broken.
“I could’ve done everything you did. Better. I work harder. I plan more. I study every detail. But no one noticed. No one cared. So yeah. I took your ideas. So what? I made them better. I deserved what you had.”
She started crying again, incoherent, swinging between apologies and accusations. The comments were a mess of shock, fascination, and disgust.
Even in the small hours of the night, tens of thousands of people were watching.
The stream cut off abruptly.
Two days later, headlines hit local news outlets.
A car had gone off the side of a mountain road late at night. The drop was steep. The terrain was unstable. Rescue crews were still trying to reach the vehicle.
Authorities didn’t release names, but the internet didn’t need them.
Gavin and Leslie had both gone silent at the same time.
Their last known location matched the area from the news.
The car was never recovered.
For the first time since my rebirth, I slept straight through the night.
No waking up on the floor. No cold sweats. No feeling like someone else’s shadow was standing in the corner of my room.