“Always.”

The bookstore was dusty and smelled of old paper — ironic for an EPUB king. Behind the counter stood a man with kind eyes and a quiet laugh. “You’re looking for N.E.M.O.,” he said before she spoke. “He’s not here. But I can give him a message.”

That night, her tablet buzzed. A new EPUB appeared in her library, untitled. She opened it.

“He thinks he’s untouchable,” she muttered, scrolling through his latest release on her tablet. The EPUB was clean, beautifully formatted, with interactive chapter anchors and hidden footnotes that led readers down emotional rabbit holes. Valentina hated how much she admired it.

She decided to play harder.