Anonymous tweets from @AthenaLiusGhost claim June stole Athena’s manuscript, used a misleading pen name, and demands Eden return rights to Athena’s family. The thread gathers traction, replies, and DMs, including threats. June panics, catastrophizes her career’s end, then reasons the account has guesses but no evidence, and clings to that hope.

June calls her agent Brett, who downplays the scandal and urges silence. Temporarily reassured, she still worries when the discourse snowballs industry-wide. Bloggers, writers, and users dissect her identity and text, mock her appearance, and circulate rumors; Adele Sparks-Sato critiques her historical framing as ignorant and harmful. June considers rebutting but recognizes any response will be weaponized.

Some defenses emerge: Brett’s public statement backs her; Eden advises keeping quiet; a conservative blogger attacks Adele; colleagues Jen and Marnie send supportive messages. Despite this, June cannot disconnect. She doomscrolls across platforms, can’t eat or sleep, and repeatedly attempts but fails to step away from the internet.

June compares her situation to scandal-proof male authors and recalls Athena’s prior torrent of racist, misogynist harassment for dating a white man—an episode she once minimized but now understands as terrifying. She scrubs her online traces, but archives resurface them, deepening her sense of exposure.

Recognizing that publishing’s reputation economy lives online, June imagines irreversible cancellation. She concludes that silence may be her only tactic, even as the fear of permanent professional ruin tightens around her.