“You’re like Ethan’s dog, Olivia. He snaps his
fingero
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Cupping
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You re like Ethan s dog, Ulivia. He snaps his
fingers, and you come running.”
“So pathetic. Throwing yourself at him. I’m
embarrassed for you.”
I pushed it aside, focusing on the auction.
This was my moment.
At 3 am, Brittany posted online. Drafts, code,
early builds of Ashes of the Realm, all time-
stamped two years prior. Accusing me of
plagiarism.
Ethan had given her my work. The work she’d
bragged would win her the Realm
competition. The work that would make me a
plagiarist.
I hadn’t entered Realm. Neither had Brittany,
thanks to Ethan’s threats.
Now, desperate, she’d played her last card.
It went viral. The award–winning designer, a
fraud. My reputation, in tatters. The auction
price plummeted. People demanded my award
be revoked.
“We can still cancel the auction…” my
assistant said, his voice strained.
I touched my aching leg, looking at the
Parisian sunrise. “Pull up the cloud backups
from two years ago.
It wouldn’t be hard to prove. Just time-
consuming.
Maybe impossible. Ashes of the Realm might
be pulled.
Then, “Ms. Jones! Ethan Parker’s live
streaming!”
He lay in a hospital bed, pale and skeletal, an
IV in his arm, heart monitor beeping. Fresh
cuts visible at his collar.
“These are Anna Jones’s design drafts from
2019 to 2021.” He held up a stack of yellowed
papers.
“November 3rd, 2019, 2 am. Anna messaged
me from the library. ‘The phoenix needs tears
of rebirth in its eyes.“”
He played a recording. My voice, mixed with
the hum of a coffee machine. “Ethan, the
third level maze is based on the Mausoleum.
<
Uma Tovor Tuzo 10 mudou vn to Ividu
of the First Qin Emperor…”
“Ms. Jones, his Weibo!”
He’d posted videos. Drafts, design docs,
code, git logs, time–stamped to the
millisecond.
Proof.
“I was involved in the early stages of this
game. I can attest that every idea came from
Anna Jones. I will be pursuing legal action
against Brittany Miller for her defamatory
actions.
The tide turned. Brittany deleted her posts,
issuing a forced apology. Her family’s
business suffered.
The internet rallied behind me.
At the end of the stream, Ethan forced a
smile. “Please support Anna Jones at the
Ashes of the Realm auction tomorrow.”
“Anna, I hope this makes up for…..”
The auction price rebounded, surpassing its
initial peak.
At the auction, Ethan arrived in a wheelchair.
“Don’t tell me he’s bidding on Ashes of the
Realm,” a colleague joked.
The price climbed. Bidders dropped out. It
came down to Ethan and a Russian investor.
“$10.1 million.”
“$11 million.”
Aris grinned. “We’re not even selling the
rights outright. The revenue stream…this is
insane.”
“Your ex–fiancé is persistent. Trying to win
