Gemotions

Thomas tapped his foot, the polished wood floor reflecting the harsh fluorescent lights of the library. He’d dedicated years to his writing, churning out novels that garnered praise from online forums, but little else. His idol, the celebrated Alistair Finch, had, in contrast, reached stratospheric success.

Then the email arrived. A link to a private Google Drive folder, filled with Finch's early drafts, and Thomas's own unpublished short stories. An unsettling heat bloomed in his chest.

The evidence was undeniable. Whole paragraphs, entire scenes, lifted verbatim. A surge of power, a strange, exhilarating feeling, coursed through him. He felt as if he could take anything, that anything was now his to claim.

He could expose Finch. Destroy him. But that wouldn't bring him anything. Instead, Thomas downloaded the files. He would take it all. The world owed him. Finch's success? It would all be his.