waking

Chapter 34 

Naomi felt a surge of emotions as she laid a hand over her chest, trying to push down the memories that came rushing in 

She glanced through the window at the professionally landscaped garden of Spring Villa. The lush greenery and vibrant flowers were a visual treat. designed by one of the best in the business. The third floor, Shawn’s bedroom, offered the prime view of this scene. 

After taking in the sights, Naomi moved away from the window, heading to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. She couldn’t let thoughts of Shawn distract her, she had more pressing things to deal with 

Back at the window, she logged onto the Sky Animation website. There it was–Rosalind had uploaded content from the draft box, and it was seriously steamy. One look at the comments section, and anyone could see the readers were shocked. 

[Whoa, what’s happening here? This doesn’t look like Elf’s usual style. And why did things get so racy out of nowhere?) 

[Where’s the quality control? Aren’t most of the readers kids? Why would the author switch the story to this… and what’s up with these illustrations?) 

[Did someone hack Elf’s account! These characters aren’t the elf king and elf maid—it’s like someone’s trashing the whole comic.] 

[Wow, talk about graphic. Almost gave me a nosebleed!] 

v Elf in 

the Evening, maybe warn us before you drop 

[I recommended this to my mom, 

m, and now she’s so mad she doesn’t even want to see me! Hey! stuff like this, huh!]. 

[The new material is totally inappropriate–makes me queasy just looking at it 

[Guys, don’t assume it’s Elf’s work. This is out of line for public viewing, especially considering the comic’s younger audience. 

[Chill, folks. Elf’s account got hacked. Eif didn’t draw any of this. The editors have been notified, and the tech team is on lockdown. Once Elf’s back in control, you’ll get the real chapters] 

The admin of the official Elf in the Evening fan club jumped in with an explanation, and the site acted fast, yanking the content that had only been. live for a few minutes 

Elsewhere, Rosalind, giddy from posting the controversial drafts, raced to her fan club chat on Instagram, to announce the new chapters, clueless that Naomi had a mole in the group an imposter account that snapped screenshots to release at just the right moment 

On the business side, Naomi reached out to Warren to get a fresh contract written up, one that removed any mention of Rosalind. This new agreement mirrored the original in length but now featured Naomi as the sole party. 

With Kelly on her team and ready to have her back at any moment. Naomi was in a solid place. And for Warren, following orders from the bigwigs to make things right for Naomi was non–negotiable. Not to mention, he was always eager to get in good with the power players, 

Inside her fan club’s group chat, Rosalind was hoping for a flood of compliments. Instead, the room fell eerily quiet. She’d pulled some Ears in as admins, secretly giving them bribes to hype her up and inflate the stats 

Then someone finally broke the silence, but they were ticked off. 

[Go to hell, thief. I wish you’d been tossed out with the bathwater as a baby, you know? Would’ve saved us from your drama.] 

[How can you even look at yourself and say you’re Elf? It’s a joke. You’ve turned this place into a disaster zone.] 

[Listen up, this one’s nothing but a scam artist, a wannabe who can’t make anything original. She just steals from the talented. Shame on her!] 

[Don’t even bother talking to her. Just apologize already, you thief, and clear Elf’s name. 

ng your parents! 

[Explains why your thoughts are as ugly as your face. They say one’s true self shows through, but dang, you’re the exception, wasting time bringing you up-] 

[If I were her dad, I would never talk to her again.) 

Trash, say you’re sorry!] 

The angriest fans pulled out all the stops, throwing every nasty insult they knew at her. 

Rosalind was blindsided. Insulis filled her screen, and she was clueless about what she did to deserve this. She slammed her laptop shut, only to lip 

it back open–she couldn’t stand being cursed out for no reason. (What’s with all the hate?] she wondered. 

[Oh, you really don’t get it! You’re just a fake. Thought you could swipe Elf’s account and take over! We’re not fools.] 

You scammer! Had us fooded and now this? Just wait, if I ever figure out where you live, get ready to see stars every single time | 

I can’t stand imposters. You have zero creative bone in you, so you just hack Elf’s account and then post stuff that tarnishes everything Elf stands for. And you really have to ask? If you had any decency, you wouldn’t do this] 

[You’re making your family facepalm with the stuff you’ve pulled. Just apologize to Elf, like now.|| 

Rosie bolted from the chat, frantically trying to message the editor or someone for answers, but Kelly’s account was gone. She clicked to the recent chapters, and there was nothing new, just yesterday’s stuff. One comment was pinned at the top, though. 

[Hey guys, it’s Elf in the Evening here. My bad, my account got hacked last night. Told the editors to pause the updates, and yeah, I saw what got posted. I’m sorry; that wasn’t my work. I’m keeping my legal options open and will be working with the site to sort this out just so you know, my work is clean- no shady images ever. We have only one official fan club, and to join, make sure you send over a screenshot proving you’re a legit subscriber. True fans only, haters can back of. We’ll deal with any troublemakers real quick. Appreciate all your support. Love y’all!] 

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