Chapter 2

Meredith and Sylvia were sitting in the open study when they heard strange noises coming from upstairs.

Both of them paused, looking a bit stunned by the weird sounds.

Meredith frowned and muttered, "Is Lawrence out of his mind? What's he freaking out about in broad daylight?"

Sylvia smiled. "Maybe he just won a game and got way too hyped."

The moment Meredith heard Sylvia's voice, her mood instantly lightened. She looked at Sylvia with starry eyes. "Sylvia, this is the latest book I bought that just got published. Would you sign it for me?"

Sylvia smiled faintly. "Should I sign it as the author?"

Meredith beamed. "Yeah, just sign 'Natasha.' You're so pretty, and even your handwriting is gorgeous."

After signing the book, Sylvia chatted with Meredith about the plot.

Meredith got even more animated, her eyes sparkling. "In Natasha Wilcox's latest suspense novel, the second male lead ends up dead. Everyone in the book club has their own theories about his death, and most people think it was a crime of passion, so they're all suspecting the female lead, who's a cop. What do you think, Sylvia?"

There was a hungry gleam in Meredith's eyes, the unmistakable look of a superfan desperate for more plot twists.

But Sylvia just kept her in suspense, saying, "Since it's a mystery, knowing the answer ahead of time isn't always a good thing for readers."

Meredith's eyes grew even more excited. "Sylvia, honestly, I've known for a long time that you are..."

"Shh!" Sylvia put her finger to her lips, signaling for silence.

Meredith's heart fluttered with excitement, her eyes shining with uncontrollable joy.

"Meredith, Dad needs to see me about something. I'll head to his study first," Sylvia said.

"Yeah, sure, go on..." Meredith waved her off, still grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.

She watched Sylvia leave, then hugged the suspense novel and rolled around on the couch, unable to contain her happiness.

When I came downstairs, I happened to brush past Sylvia.

She tilted her chin up, not sparing me a single glance.

I raised my brows slightly and walked over to Meredith, who was still basking in her happiness.

I glanced at the suspense novel she was hugging, which looked very familiar.

That cover was the result of two days of group chat discussions between me, the editor-in-chief, and the designer.

But seeing the name "Natasha" on the cover made me feel a bit uneasy.

Why did my pen name have to be signed by someone else?

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

As soon as Meredith saw me, she immediately straightened up, slipping back into her usual poised and elegant demeanor.

I asked calmly, "Are you a fan of Natasha Wilcox?"

Meredith set the book down on the desk and straightened up, looking all proper. "Yeah? What, are you a fan too?"

I nodded. "Kind of."

Honestly, sometimes I had to admire my own wild imagination. How did I manage to write such fascinating stories?

Meredith's lips curled into a sly smile as she spoke slowly, "Since you're a Natasha fan like me, let me share a little secret with you. That legendary author you keep thinking about? Turns out, she's actually living right here in our house."

I just went, "Mm."

Meredith added, "Listen, I'm only telling you this because you're my sister, and I don't want you to end up being an outcast in this family. Natasha is actually Sylvia's pen name. So from now on, when you see Sylvia, don't even think about playing any mind games or trying to win anyone over. She's my idol, and if you ever get into it with her, don't expect me to take your side."

"So, in front of your idol, you'd better not act up or stir up any drama. If you make her dislike you, you'll be the one bawling your eyes out," she warned.

I didn't respond.

Meredith just snorted. "Whatever. You're hopeless, like a block of wood."

With that, she hugged the book to her chest again, sighing dramatically, "Ugh, I wish I knew when the next volume was coming out! Will the online version drop first, or the printed copy? I just need to know what happens next—who the killer really is!"

"The killer is the male lead," I said.

When I said that, Meredith paused for a second, then gave a dismissive snort.

"Come on, no way it's the male lead! You call yourself a Natasha fan, but have you even read the book? The male lead is the victim's good friend. They grew up together. There's no way he'd hurt the second male lead. When everyone in the book club was guessing the killer, the first person they ruled out was the male lead."

I just shrugged. "I've already read the next volume. Of course I know."

Meredith scoffed, "Yeah right, stop bragging. Sylvia hasn't even finished writing the next volume, and you're claiming you've already read it?"

I said honestly, "The next volume is already done. The publisher has the final draft, and it should hit the shelves next month."

Meredith snarked, "Oh, come on. Do you really think I'm that gullible? The online version always gets updated before the printed release, and the next volume you're talking about isn't even out online yet."

I looked at Meredith and said seriously, "It was supposed to start updating tomorrow, but if you want to read it now, I could upload it early for you..."

With that, I pulled out my phone.

I logged into my author dashboard.

Then I published a chapter that had been sitting in my drafts.

Meredith watched me do my thing on the phone and couldn't help but snark, "Oh, look at you, acting like you're the author or something. Just updating whenever you feel like it..."

Just then, Meredith's phone buzzed.

She got a notification from her novel app—the book she was following had just updated.

She glanced at her phone, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"What? It... it actually updated..." she stammered.

"No, wait, I mean... you, you must've already seen the update, right? My app just sent me the notification late. That's all."

I paused for a second, then dumped all ten chapters from my drafts at once.

Meredith's jaw dropped as she watched ten chapters update in a row, her whole expression changing.

She cried out with shock, "Ten chapters? Holy crap, that's a mass release! Natasha just did a chapter dump!

"Wait, no, Sylvia went to see Dad, right? There's no way she could've posted those chapters!

"Wait, could it really be you... No way! That's impossible!

"If you're really the author, then send me the whole thing right now!"

Her demand was risky. There was a chance the story could leak early. But she was my sister, after all.

I trusted her character.

So, without hesitation, I sent the entire next volumes straight to her inbox.

I told her, "Just read it yourself for now, Meredith. Don't spread it around yet. But if you really can't resist sharing it with your book club friends, it's honestly not a big deal. I still own the rights, so at worst, I'll just lose a bit of subscription money."

Meredith's eyes were wide with shock, her pupils practically trembling.

She stammered, completely at a loss for words as she stared at the manuscript.

She kept glancing between me and the signature on the book, then back at the manuscript, scratching her head in disbelief, pinching her cheeks, and even slapping her thighs—like she was trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

In the end, all those complicated feelings exploded into a single, ear-piercing scream.

I could tell she had been blown away by what just happened!