Amelia spotted Tina's car outside the coffee shop and ran across the street without looking.
A truck honked loudly as it swerved around her. Amelia didn't care. She needed to talk to someone who knew her, someone who would listen.
Through the window, she could see Tina sitting with three other people at their usual table. The same table where they used to laugh about silly things and share secrets.
Amelia pushed open the door, breathing hard from running. "Tina!"
Every person in the coffee shop turned to stare. Someone gasped. A woman quickly pulled out her phone and started recording.
Tina's face went white. She stood up so fast her chair fell backward.
"Amy, what are you doing here?"
"I've been calling you for two days. You won't answer."
The three people at Tina's table were staring at Amelia like she was a dangerous animal. One of them whispered something that sounded like "bully."
"Amy, you can't be here," Tina said quietly. "People are watching."
"I don't care about people watching. I care about my friends."
Tina glanced around nervously. More phones were coming out. The woman behind the counter looked scared.
"Please, just leave," Tina begged.
"Not until you tell me why you won't talk to me."
Tina's friends at the table started whispering louder. One of them, a girl with short blonde hair, stood up.
"Are you seriously defending this monster?" the girl asked Tina.
Amelia felt like she had been slapped. "I'm not a monster."
"We saw the video," another friend said. "You made that poor girl cry."
"That video is fake!"
"Sure it is," the blonde girl laughed. "Just like every celebrity says when they get caught doing something terrible."
Amelia's eyes filled with tears. She looked at Tina, hoping for support. But Tina was staring at the floor.
"Tina, please. You know me. We've been friends for six years. Have I ever been cruel to anyone?"
Tina finally looked up. Her eyes were cold and distant. "Maybe I never really knew you at all."
The words cut through Amelia like a knife.
"How can you say that?"
"Because the girl I thought I knew would never hurt someone smaller and weaker than her," Tina said. "But there you are on video, destroying a kid's dreams."
"I'm telling you, that video isn't real!"
"Then explain how it shows your face, your voice, your exact mannerisms. Explain how Selene knew details about what you said that weren't even in the video."
Amelia opened her mouth, then closed it. She couldn't explain those things. Not yet.
"See?" Tina shook her head. "You can't even defend yourself properly."
"I came here because I thought you were my friend."
"I was your friend. Past tense." Tina picked up her purse. "But I can't be friends with someone who bullies children. My little sister looks up to you. How do I explain that her hero is actually a mean person?"
Tina walked past Amelia toward the door, then stopped. "And Amy? Don't contact me again. I'm blocking your number."
The coffee shop was dead silent except for the sound of Amelia's heart breaking.
She ran outside and sat on a bench, crying so hard she could barely breathe. After a few minutes, she pulled out her phone and called Jade.
It went straight to voicemail.
She tried again. Same thing.
On the third try, Jade finally answered. "Amy, I can't talk right now."
"Jade, please. I just need five minutes."
"I'm at a work meeting. This isn't a good time."
"When is a good time? You haven't returned any of my calls."
There was a long pause. Amelia could hear voices in the background.
"Look, Amy, I'm trying to be nice about this, but you're making it hard."
"Making what hard?"
"My boss saw us together in photos online. She asked me if I still hang out with you. I had to tell her no to keep my job."
Amelia felt sick. "You lied about being my friend to save your job?"
"It's not lying. I can't be your friend anymore. Not after what you did."
"What I supposedly did. Jade, you've known me since high school. Do you really think I would hurt someone on purpose?"
"I don't know what to think anymore. The video looks real. Selene's story sounds real. Even your own record label dropped you."
"Because they're scared of bad publicity, not because I'm guilty!"
"Amy, I have to go. My meeting is starting."
"Wait, please—"
The line went dead.
Amelia stared at her phone. In three days, she had lost her career, her boyfriend, and now her two best friends. The only people who still believed in her were her parents.
She was about to put her phone away when it buzzed with a text from Jade: "I'm sorry, but I can't risk my reputation for someone who might be lying. Goodbye, Amy."
Amelia threw her phone down on the bench and screamed. A man walking his dog hurried past her, pulling the animal away like she might attack it.
Her phone buzzed again. This time it was an unknown number.
"Feeling lonely yet? Don't worry. Tomorrow you'll understand why everyone was right to leave you. Check your email."
Amelia's hands shook as she opened her email app. There was one new message with no sender name. The subject line said: "Your friends were smart to run."
Inside the email was a video file.
Amelia's finger hesitated over the play button. She was afraid to see what new lie they had created about her.
But she had to know.
She pressed play.
The video showed her sitting in a restaurant with Tina and Jade six months ago. But the audio had been changed. Instead of their real conversation, the fake audio had Amelia saying horrible things.
"I only hang out with you two because it makes me look normal," fake-Amelia said. "But honestly, you're both kind of pathetic. Tina's desperate for attention, and Jade is boring."
Then fake-Amelia laughed cruelly. "Sometimes I can't believe I have to pretend to care about such losers."
The video was so well made that even Amelia almost believed it was real.
Her phone rang immediately. It was Tina.
"You evil witch!" Tina screamed. "How could you say those things about us?"
"Tina, that video is fake too! I never said any of that!"
"Stop lying! I was there that day. I remember you laughing just like that."
"I was laughing at a joke you told about your cat!"
"You're sick, Amy. I'm so glad I found out who you really are before you could hurt me any more."
Tina hung up.
Thirty seconds later, Jade called.
"I hope you're happy," Jade said quietly. "You've made us both look like idiots for ever trusting you."
"Jade, please listen—"
"No. I'm done listening to your lies. Don't ever contact me again."
Click.
Amelia looked at her phone and realized something terrifying.
Whoever was doing this had been watching her for months, maybe even years. They had footage of her private moments with friends. They knew exactly how to hurt her by turning the people she loved against her.
But how? And why?
Her phone buzzed one more time. Another message from the unknown number:
"Phase Two complete. Your friends hate you, just like everyone else will. But we're not done yet. Tomorrow, the whole world will see the video of you laughing about stealing money from sick children. Sleep well, Amy. It's your last night before everyone discovers what kind of monster you really are."
Amelia stared at the message until her vision blurred.
They had videos of her doing things she had never done. They knew her friends, her habits, her private moments.
And tomorrow, they were going to destroy whatever tiny pieces of her life were left.
But as she sat on that bench, completely alone, one thought kept echoing in her mind:
How did they get footage from inside that restaurant six months ago unless someone she trusted had been recording her?