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On the other side of the screen, Penelope jumped out of her desk chair, sending it wheeling behind her. She wanted to let out a victorious scream, but it was late, really late, and she didn't want to wake her dad. Instead, she jumped around with her hand clamped over her mouth to muffle her squealing.

The footage of the dark figure stalking her through the hospital was the best evidence they'd ever gotten. It was a full body apparition, the rarest of the rare, and they had never captured anything as good as that before. Most of their evidence was just flashes of things, something darting by a door or a strange orb floating through the air. But this...

This was what she had been searching for all this time: undeniable proof of the supernatural. This was proof of something more, something beyond the limits of their knowable world.

This was proof of life after death.

Penelope let out another squeal. Maybe she did want to wake her Dad. After all, he was just as invested in her search as she was. After her mom—

No, Penelope thought, deciding against it with a shake of her head. The evidence would be there in the morning, and she could show him then. And, anyway, she needed to finish watching the rest of the footage first.

She plopped herself back down in her chair and dragged the progress bar back a few seconds so she could watch it again. Once again, the shadow slipped into the room, looming behind her.

"Who are you?" she repeated on screen as she circled the pentagram, the shadow in tow. "What do you want?"

A white spiky line of audio appeared over the scene with a small line of text underneath, reading: AUDIO HAS BEEN ENHANCED. The ambient noise behind Penelope's voice grew louder until it was rumbling static. Then, pulled from the lowest frequencies, came a voice...

"We want you to leave," a raspy whisper replied, appearing as a series of small bumps in the white line of audio. "Leave us alone."

And, just like that, the shadow faded away.

The footage returned to normal, the white line gone. The Penelope in the footage had no idea what she had just captured on her little recorder. The Penelope at the desk hit pause again, her veins singing with electricity.

She had to talk to Daevon.

She snatched up her phone, mashed his name on the screen, and waited as it began to ring. But as the ringing continued and he didn't answer, she began to worry. A glance at the clock on her computer told her it was already past three in the morning. Penelope frowned. Sure, most people would've been asleep by now, but she knew that Daevon was a night owl like her and often burned the midnight oil when finishing the edits on a video.

The ringing stopped, and Penelope perked up as she heard his voice on the line. "It's Daevon," he began. But Penelope quickly realized that it was a pre-recorded message. "Don't leave a voicemail," the recording continued. "I don't check them. Just text me."

What the hell? She huffed and ended the call without leaving a message. He usually answered her calls, no matter what, day or night. It was odd that she couldn't reach him, especially now. Usually, when he'd send her his latest edits on a video, he'd wait by the phone for her to call and freak out about the evidence they'd found.

She wondered where he'd gone. Maybe he was in the shower or playing video games or...

It didn't matter. Daevon would get back to her soon, she was sure. She did as his message said and typed out a quick text.

JUST SAW IT! CALL ME!!!

Dumping her phone onto her desk, she spun her chair to face the screen. Maybe she could get her notes finished before Daevon called back. Though he handled all their video editing, she still had lots to do. She needed to record an intro, an outro, plus a voiceover...

As she thought of finishing the video and posting it, shivers of excitement shook through her. She couldn't wait to share this with her followers. They were going to lose their minds—

Her phone pinged.

She grabbed it again, thinking it must be a reply from Daevon. But it was just a DM from Lexi, another paranormal YouTuber based that she had become friends with online.

What's happening? Lexi asked. For most, it would be a bit late for a chat, but her paranormal community friends were night owls, too. It came with the job.

Not much, Penelope sent back. Just watching Daevon's edits on our next video. You? She debated if she wanted to give Lexi a sneak peek at what they'd found—

Lexi responded instantly. No, she replied, and another bubble followed as the other girl typed out another message. What's happening with you and Daevon?

Penelope's brow folded into a frown. It was just a simple message, but something about it sent a chill crawling up her spine. She tapped back a quick reply. What about me and Daevon...?

Didn't you see it?? Lexi asked almost immediately.

See what? Penelope typed back.

This time Lexi only sent a link to a YouTube video. Penelope was surprised to see Daevon in the thumbnail, front and centre. He was sitting with a grim look on his face with his back against a plain wall. There were no graphics, no text—just Daevon.

The video was simply titled:

THE TRUTH ABOUT PARANELOPE

Her stomach dropped. She'd been on YouTube long enough to know that a plain thumbnail with a title like that meant something bad.

She breathed deeply, trying to calm her racing heart. It was probably one of those skeptic channels—the ones that usually trolled their comments and claimed all their evidence was fake—just using them for clickbait again. Some were more than a little obsessed and barely cared about actually debunking the evidence. Now it was just about the drama and views.

The thought made her feel a little better as she jabbed at the link... Until she saw the strange video wasn't from some random drama channel.

The video was from Daevon's own channel, DAEVONIC.

Her stomach dropped a little further.

Her hands went cold. The phone shook in her trembling hand.

With a shuddering breath, Penelope hit play.

The video started with little fanfare. Daevon was seated front and centre with only a plain wall behind him, just like the thumbnail. The camera was arranged at an awkward angle, strangely haphazard for an experienced cameraman.

Daevon turned his gaze to the camera, staring right into the lens. His bleached-blonde hair was askew like he had just rolled out of bed, though the shadows under his eyes looked like he had gone without sleep for several days. His cheeks looked narrow, like he hadn't been eating, either.

Penelope's heart was now fluttering in her chest like a fly caught in a web. What is happening? What is even happening?

Tears welled in her eyes. Something wasn't right, she was sure of it. But he would've told her if something was wrong, right? They had been making videos together for over two years. He was supposed to be her boyfriend. He would've talked to her. He wouldn't just make a video...

Right?

Daevon finally spoke, his familiar voice crackling over her phone's speaker. "I don't know where I should start." His voice was rough, raw, almost like he had been crying. "But I guess I should start with... I'm sorry."

Penelope's tears overflowed, sliding down her cheeks. Her thoughts were racing now. Had he done something? Hurt someone? If he had hurt someone, she would never forgive him. But that didn't sound like the Daevon she knew. He was her boyfriend, her best friend, her partner in crime. He told her everything...

Or at least she thought he did.

"I truly am sorry," he continued. "You all put so much faith and trust in me and Paranel—Penelope. And for that, we're truly thankful. We owe everything to you. But I'm afraid we don't deserve it."

What? Penelope thought. What the hell is he talking about?

And why is he including me in this?

The video continued with Daevon rubbing his hands down his face. "The truth is, I... I can't keep doing this." He looked up. His jaw was set, his brows bent inwards. "I need to get this off my chest. I hate to say it, but... All the evidence on PARANELOPE is fake. It always has been. And I know that for certain because I was the one who faked it."

Inside Penelope's head, the world ground to a stop. Silence throbbed in her ears. Daevon's video played on, but she couldn't hear it. For one moment, she was held in a soundless vacuum as the truth dawned on her.

All my videos...

All my years of work...

It was all...

Fake?

Again, her phone pinged in her hand. Then again, and again, and again as new messages and notifications began to pour in. Some were from people she knew, but more were from people she didn't. They were angry. Hateful, even.

The backlash had started.