Chapter 1

Zach’s childhood friend, Bella, created an influencer account.

She took advantage of my absence, sneaked into my room, entered my computer password, and copied all of my paid freelance writings to her phone. Then, she posted everything online for free.

Overnight, she gained thousands of followers.

The next day, when I confronted her, she smirked, "Ava, did I make so much money that you can't even afford food anymore?"

Zachary walked into the room while I was in the middle of a heated argument with Bella.

To be fair, it wasn’t much of an argument—Bella was the only one talking.

I realized she was acting completely irrational, like someone out of a psychiatric ward, and reasoning with her was impossible.

"If you can make money writing freelance, why can't I run an influencer account?"

"Ava, did I make so much money that you can't even afford food anymore?"

I started off furious, but my anger slowly faded as I listened to her insane ranting. It was like dealing with someone unhinged.

Bella had been Zach’s neighbor when they were kids. According to him, she was a sweet, innocent little sister figure who moved to Los Angeles after graduation to start her job. Since she didn’t know many people in the city, Zach suggested she stay with us temporarily until her internship ended.

"Ava, it’s only for three months. Just think of it as doing me a favor."

At first, I didn’t agree. I mean, who wants to live with a stranger?

But then I thought about my own early days in LA, feeling lost and overwhelmed. If I could help someone avoid that struggle, why not? After all, it was just three months.

I didn’t even charge her rent, but I ended up inviting trouble into my home.

One time, Bella’s laptop broke, and she was desperate to finish a project. She was crying, and I felt sorry for her, so I lent her my computer. I never bothered to change the password afterward, and that’s when the trouble started.

When Zach arrived, Bella instantly transformed from a venomous snake into a sweet, innocent girl. She lowered her damp eyelashes and sniffled, “Zach, there are lots of influencer accounts out there. Why is Ava so upset with me? Doesn’t she love influencer marketing?”

Zach stood there silently for a moment, a frown creasing his brow. “Normally, influencer accounts don’t post entire articles from the original writers. That’s…,” he hesitated, searching for the right words, “… pretty impolite.”

I almost laughed. Immoral and impolite? Are those the same thing now?

Bella hung her head. “Alright, I was wrong.”

She took a deep breath and then raised her face back to that fake, sweet expression. “How about I treat you both to dinner? Consider it an apology to Ava.”

An apology?

Who does she think she's fooling?

Sitting back on the couch, I smiled and said, "Bella, first, you need to delete all the videos you posted. Then, you need to return the money you made from your posts. And finally, issue a public apology."

"That’s what an apology looks like."

Bella looked at me in disbelief, her voice rising in frustration. "Ava, you're going too far!"

Going too far?

I almost laughed.

I calmly pulled up my phone’s photo album and handed it to her, showing her a video.

Bella’s face immediately froze.

Zach, still clueless about what was happening, came over to take a look. Within minutes, his expression darkened, disappointment etched across his face as he stared at Bella.

The video showed everything Bella had done in my room when I wasn’t home. She didn’t just steal my work; she wore my clothes, used my skincare products, spat on my bedsheets and pillows, and even swiped some of my jewelry.

I had suspected Bella for a while, but without proof, there wasn’t much I could do. It didn’t take long for my new security camera, installed just three days ago, to capture all her antics.

It’s always the ones closest to you.

Bella blushed, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Zach. "I... I didn’t..."

But she couldn’t even finish her sentence. Furious and flustered, she grabbed my phone and deleted the video, then tossed the phone onto the couch, glaring at me defiantly.

I smiled, amused by her misplaced sense of victory. “It’s fine, Bella. I’ve got plenty of backup videos. If you don’t meet my demands, I’ll just take this to the police. After all, theft is theft, and the evidence is solid.”

I paused for effect and then added, “The Tiffany & Co. necklace you stole isn’t worth that much. But having a criminal record over it? That might be a bit too much to handle, don’t you think?”

Bella’s face flushed red with shame. After some hesitation, she finally gave in, deleting the videos, returning the money she had made from the influencer account, and posting a public apology.

As for the Tiffany necklace, Bella claimed she had already listed it on Facebook Marketplace for three hundred bucks.

... Well, no big deal.

She’d just pay me back the original price.