Declan is waiting outside the door.
“You’re good,” he says.
“I’m better than good.” I brush past him with a smile that makes him think I feel something I don’t.
Back in my cell, I peel back my blanket to reveal the letters I’ve been drafting for weeks: anonymous tips, notes to advocacy groups, carefully timed leaks—each one designed to tilt the world a few degrees in my favor.
And then there’s the plan. The real plan.
I open my notebook and stare at the timeline: the riot, the attack, the injury, the photos, the hero arc.
“I can do more good out there than in here,” I say aloud, testing the sound of it.
Declan will be my inside man. He just doesn’t know it yet.
People trust kindness. They’re starving for it. A smile, a soft tone, a hand held a second too long, and suddenly you’re a saint.
Or a monster in disguise.
Either way, they worship you.
And when season two ofThe Influencer Murdersdrops…they’ll all be watching.
Exactly as planned.
Chapter Six
The Watcher
[PODCAST TRANSCRIPT – UNREDACTED: EPISODE 2 - “THE ICON UNMASKED”]
Host: The Watcher
SFX: [Soft tape hiss. A low drone. The sound of an old cassette rewinding.]
[Opening music: a low, pulsing thrum, faint whispers layered beneath it. The track fades.]
THE WATCHER (narrator, voice calm but sharp):
“She’s been called many things.
Influencer.
Murderer.
Liar.
But what if I told you everything you’ve heard about Shae Halston is only the beginning? That while cameras captured her smile and podcasts framed her as a survivor, the truth—the real truth—was waiting in the shadows, stitched into her life like blood on silk.
I’m The Watcher. And tonight, I’m going to tell you what they didn’t want you to know.”
[Pause. Papers shuffle faintly.]
THE WATCHER:
“Over the last three years, the world devoured her story. Millions tuned in as Shae cast herself as a victim—a woman swallowed by the justice system. A wrongfully accused daughter. A scapegoat. A survivor of circumstance.
She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a federal agent and Jesika Layman. Mishandled evidence and a prosecution that couldn’t clear the highest bar left her with lesser charges—and a path back into the light.
