Chapter 1
One of my former students wrote me into a steamy web novel that blew up online.
In the story, I was the villainous teacher, jealous of my students and constantly meddling in their relationships.
The novel used my real name and my workplace.
When the book blew up, the storm turned toward me.
Countless young people and the author themselves felt a deep connection with the story.
They dug up my personal info and flooded my social media with hateful messages.
Some even went so far as to mail me razor blades.
I quietly saved all the evidence and filed a lawsuit against him.
Everyone accused me of being petty and trying to cash in on the author's fame.
But only I knew—the girl he wrote about was my own daughter.
After being assaulted, she took her own life.
*****
Swallowing my disgust, I opened a DM to Jason Cole.
My fingers were shaking as I typed: [Jason, it's Laura Bennett. Delete every post about me and my daughter right now, and apologize publicly.]
Moments later, my phone buzzed.
Jason replied first with a question mark, then: [What else do you want? Ms. Bennett, I'm so scared.]
Minutes later, my phone exploded with notifications.
Jason had screenshot our conversation and posted it online, paired with a tearful, heartfelt essay.
[Ms. Bennett, why can't you let me go after all these years?]
[You drove Megan away back then, tore us apart, and now you want to take away my only spiritual sustenance?]
He sobbed about how I had ruined their relationship, how Megan had begged me with tears in her eyes, and even claimed I was unfit to be a mother.
He flipped the script entirely.
The comments section exploded with outrage.
[Holy crap! Is this teacher a total psycho or what?]
[Poor author, getting their whole relationship wrecked by this boomer witch. That's just brutal.]
[Megan was the author's dream girl! How is this mom even qualified to be a parent?]
[Someone needs to dox her! I wanna see what she actually looks like!]
[Drop her address, I'll send her a funeral wreath!]
My social media was totally swamped, and my inbox was blowing up with messages.
[You old hag, why don't you just die already!]
[You don't know the first thing about love. No wonder nobody wants you around!]
Looking at all that so-called "love" on my screen just made me sick to my stomach.
I guessed they nailed it. Everyone had abandoned me.
Megan's face appeared in my mind's eye.
The real story wasn't love at all.
It was Jason's nonstop harassment and threats, year after year.
Every word in Megan's suicide note spelled it out, clear as day.
[Mom, I'm so sorry. I feel so dirty. Jason is a monster. He raped me. I'm so scared. I can't go on anymore.]
I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles turned white.
Megan's diary, hidden beside my bed, had his name stained on every page.
Just then, Jason posted another update—a video.
Haggard and red-eyed, he sat in front of the camera, pleading.
"Ms. Bennett, I'm begging you, please, just leave me alone.
"Megan's soul is free now—quit trying to keep her on a leash!"
He even shouted at the camera, his voice cracking with desperation.
"Laura! Where are you keeping Megan? Tell her I love her, damn it! I've never stopped waiting for her!"
He broke down in front of the camera, tears falling without warning.
"Are you listening, Megan? I love you! Ms. Bennett, give her back to me! I'm begging you!"
Absurd! He thought Megan was still alive, and I was just hiding her away.
Instantly, the video sparked a wave of outrage across the internet.
[Oh my god! This mom is completely deranged! Did she really lock her daughter away?]
[This is terrifying! Somebody call the police and rescue the girl!]
[What? Is that some kind of movie plot?]
I laughed at their absurdity, turned off my phone, and screenshot every insult, every snippet of the novel.
Opening my laptop, I organized scans of Megan's diary and suicide note, then dialed my lawyer, Logan Warren.
"Mr. Warren, I'm suing Jason Cole for defamation and invasion of privacy. And I want to reopen my daughter's case."
As soon as I hung up, the school principal, Vincent Wesley, called—his tone stern and furious.
"Ms. Bennett, this incident has ruined the school's reputation. Get here immediately."