The Wrong Woman

"What about social media? Why did you block me?" Sienna inquired.

"Sorry, Sienna. Why exactly did you call me?" Jane's response left Sienna somewhat resigned, a sense of foreboding settling over her. Such was the way of supposed lifelong friends. Sienna had no interest in maintaining one-sided emotional investments in friendships. Cutting straight to the chase, she asked, "Jane, did you write 'Into the Light'?"

There was silence on the other end.

For Sienna, this silence was deafening. She couldn't believe it. Her heart clenched with a mix of sorrow and indignation. "So, 'Into the Light' is really your work?"

"Yes." Jane's voice, though slightly hollow, carried an air of entitlement. "I've already bought the book's copyright and secured a film contract."

Sienna let out a wry smile, her eyes moistening. "I never imagined that my best friend would steal my book. I-"

Before Sienna could finish, Jane cut her off, her tone assertive, "Sienna, my book was published three months before yours. Who copied whom? It's pretty clear, isn't it?"

Sienna sighed bitterly. "Jane, do you know the meaning of shame when you speak like this?"

again, Jane fell

eyes. She took a deep breath and

moment, she spoke again, her voice measured. "I wrote tens of thousands of words for this book and stored it on my laptop. I

the original creator, and you plagiarized my novel. Considering our friendship, I didn't want to sue you. But my company

privately and issue an apology, we can consider this matter settled. There's

I never knew you treasured our relationship so much and considered our bond. But too bad, it seems I'm more ruthless than you. All I want now is to destroy you. Just wait; we'll see each other in

that, Sienna hung up the

mere thought that Jane could be behind

no time and began preparing the materials for the lawsuit. She also got her company to hire a lawyer. Despite days of tireless preparation, the

in the hotel's ground-floor restaurant, Sienna and the lawyer mulled over their options for the impending lawsuit. The lawyer proposed seeking a setteet given the slim chances of success in

shot," the lawyer admitted, his

could find some top-tier network engineers who could retrieve the timestamps of my book's creation? Perhaps we could trace

reignited as he slammed his hand on the table. "That might work. It's a strong