Chapter 1

The online hate felt like a thousand paper cuts, each one drawing a tiny bead of blood.

"Sarah Miller is a psycho bitch!" one comment screamed.

"She drove The Vortex into the ground!" another spat.

My picture, twisted into a monstrous caricature, was everywhere.

Brittany "Bree" Evans, Jake's childhood friend, had done her work well.

Her tearful streams, full of edited clips of my "intense" coaching, painted me as an abuser.

Jake, my Jake, the star player I' d built, my boyfriend, stood by her side, nodding.

He blamed me for his terrible performance in the National Championship finals.

He said my "negativity" broke his focus.

The truth was, I tried to stop him.

Brittany offered him a "special focus aid" just before the match.

I knew, somehow, it was wrong.

I smashed the drink from his hand.

He slapped me, hard, in front of everyone.

"You crazy bitch!" he yelled.

The team, The Vortex, the boys I' d mentored from nothing to national contenders, they just watched.

Then, they lost. Badly.

After that, the storm Brittany unleashed was fast and brutal.

I was fired. My career, my life' s work, gone.

Then came the doxxing. My address, my phone number, all public.

Threats poured in.

One night, walking home, headlights blinded me.

A car, fast.

Pain, then nothing.

The last thing I remembered was a glimpse of a shadowy figure Brittany often met, a wealthy "benefactor" whose illicit eSports betting ring I' d accidentally threatened to expose while trying to protect Jake from bad influences.

He had a motive. Brittany had a channel.

They destroyed me.