Gemotions

The room seemed to shrink. Claire felt like she was suffocating. The report on the screen, detailing how the prolific Iris Thorne had seemingly plagiarized from Claire's unpublished manuscript, swam before her eyes. The sheer audacity of it left her reeling.

She let out a harsh, broken laugh. All the years spent toiling away, crafting characters and worlds, had been for nothing. The words tasted like ash in her mouth.

Claire snatched her phone, then threw it against the wall. She heard the shattering sound, and for a moment, the world felt still. The feeling quickly returned, more intense than before.