The front door slammed shut, rattling the glass panes in the foyer. The grandfather clock chimed 3:00 AM.
Julian stumbled into the living room, reeking of expensive scotch and cheap perfume. He didn't bother turning on the main lights. He just tossed his suit jacket over the back of the velvet sofa and marched straight toward the mahogany dining table where I sat.
He slammed a stack of blank printer paper down in front of me.
"Get to work," Julian slurred, leaning heavily on the table edge.
"Work?" I asked, looking at the empty white sheets.
"The eighth book," he demanded, jabbing his index finger onto the top page. "The publisher wants the outline by Friday. They want to ride the momentum of the award."
"You just announced the seventh book is the final conclusion," I reminded him, my voice steady.
"Plans change, Elena. Money talks. They offered a two-million-dollar advance for a spinoff."
"And you expect me to start right now."
"I expect you to do your job," Julian snapped, his bloodshot eyes narrowing. "You sit in this massive house all day. You have nothing else to do."
I stared at him. His tie hung loose around his neck. A faint smudge of red lipstick stained his collar.
Three years ago, on a night much like this, a thunderstorm battered the city. Julian had attended a charity gala. I waited outside in the freezing rain, holding an umbrella, ready to walk him to the car. Instead, he emerged from the venue with his arm wrapped tightly around Skye's waist, shielding her from the downpour under his own coat. He drove off in the town car, leaving me on the curb. I walked three miles back to this house in the dark, soaked to the bone.
"I need fifty pages of plot by tomorrow night," Julian insisted, tapping the table. "Make it gritty. Throw in a new love triangle. People eat that up."
"You want fifty pages," I repeated.
"Yes. And make sure the pacing is tight. The last book dragged in the middle. I had to defend it in three different interviews."
"You defended it?"
"I'm the face of the brand, Elena. I take the heat when your writing gets lazy."
I looked down at my right hand. The cut from the broken champagne glass throbbed. I reached over with my left hand and slowly peeled off the bandage. The wound was raw, the edges red and jagged.
"Are you even listening to me?" Julian asked, his voice rising.
"I hear you perfectly," I said.
I opened the bottom drawer of my desk. I pulled out a thick manila folder and dropped it onto the table beside his blank paper.
"What's this?" Julian asked, frowning.
"The outline for book eight," I said. "I anticipated the publisher would want a continuation. I finished it last week."
Julian's expression shifted from irritation to greedy excitement. He snatched the folder off the table.
"You already wrote it?" he asked, flipping the cover open.
"Every major plot point," I confirmed. "Character arcs, setting descriptions, chapter summaries."
He didn't read a single word. He didn't check the timeline or scan the character names. He just shoved the entire folder into his leather briefcase and snapped the brass locks shut.
"See?" Julian said, patting my shoulder clumsily. "This is why we work well together. You handle the boring details, and I bring the vision to life."
"The vision," I echoed.
"I'll have David send this to the editors in the morning," Julian announced, grabbing his briefcase. "They're going to love it."
They were going to hate it.
The outline in that folder was a meticulously crafted disaster. I had spent two weeks weaving fatal continuity errors into the narrative. The protagonist's timeline contradicted the established lore from book three. The magic system violated its own rules. The new antagonist was a blatant, legally actionable rip-off of a copyrighted character from a rival publishing house.
Once David submitted that document under Julian's name, the plagiarism accusations would destroy his career before lunch.
"I'm going to bed," Julian declared, turning away. "Make sure my suit goes to the dry cleaners tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Julian," I said, watching his retreating back.
He staggered down the hall, his footsteps heavy on the hardwood floor.
I sat alone in the dim light, the silence of the large house pressing in around me. The dull ache in my hand grounded me. I picked up the stack of blank paper he had demanded I fill and dropped it into the trash can.
I stood up, pushing my chair back. I needed to wash the dried blood off my knuckles.
I walked quietly down the corridor toward the guest bathroom. The house was dark, save for the moonlight spilling through the tall windows.
As I neared the intersection of the hallway, a sliver of light spilled from the half-open door of the downstairs powder room.
I paused. Julian had gone upstairs.
I stepped closer, my bare feet making no sound on the rug. I peered through the narrow gap between the door and the frame.
Skye stood by the marble sink. She still wore the tight red dress from the award ceremony.
She held a white plastic stick under the vanity light, her thumb gripping the edge as she stared intently at the two pink lines.
