Gemotions

The email sat in Eleanor’s inbox, the subject line a damning verdict: “Possible Plagiarism.” Her hand, usually steady, trembled as she clicked. Inside, a side-by-side comparison of her short story, “The Gilded Cage,” and a passage from Alistair Finch’s latest bestseller, “Shadows of Remembrance.” Her jaw clenched. Finch, the literary titan she’d worshipped since childhood, had seemingly stolen her words, her imagery, her very soul.

She slammed her laptop shut, the sound echoing in her otherwise silent apartment. The air felt thick, suffocating. She paced the length of her living room, her steps quick, erratic. The walls, once comforting, now seemed to press in on her.

"He wouldn't," she muttered, the denial a weak shield against the truth. It was a flimsy defense, and it shattered as another, more detailed comparison arrived, this time with a lawyer's letter attached.

She spent the entire evening, the night, and a good part of the next day in a fury of activity. Drafting a response to the letter, searching for Finch’s contact information, and finally screaming at her cat.