The sunlight in Velmora had a sharpness that morning. A sense of clarity that sliced through the fog of late-night edits and celebratory ramen.
Liam woke up to Dex practically kicking down the studio door.
"Bro, we have a situation."
Nova rubbed sleep from her eyes, her laptop still humming beside her. Ace stood already—silent, unreadable, as always.
Dex spun his phone around.
#EverlineExposé#ChainlessPlagiarism#LiamCarterScandal
Trending. Climbing fast.
Liam blinked. "What…?"
Ace's voice was cold. "They're saying you sampled an old underground track from Ourellia. That it wasn't cleared."
Nova snapped her head toward the console. "No way. I pulled that beat myself. It's original. Built it from scratch with you!"
Dex was already scrolling. "They have 'proof'. A ten-year-old track from some deadbeat artist, claiming your flow and hook match his. He's backed by a media house. Guess who funded the article?"
"Everline?" Liam said flatly.
Ace nodded. "Kara Vale's move. She wants to shake your foundation."
They were playing dirty. The label wasn't going to beg Liam to return.They were going to corner him.
Destroy his credibility. Scare away indie backers. Cast doubt. Kill the hype.
Ace stood in the middle of the room. "We've got 48 hours. After that, this becomes your brand. We need to flip the narrative."
Liam's jaw was clenched. "We fight. We prove it's fake."
Nova added, "And while we're at it… let's own the attention. Use it."
Dex grinned. "Say less."
That night, they uploaded a response video.
No apologies. No corporate polish.
Just Liam standing in the studio, eyes clear.
"You ever wonder why the big dogs bark when they feel threatened?""Funny how I drop truth, and suddenly they find a 'ghost track' from a decade ago.""Here's the original project file, timestamps and all. Here's Nova's beat stems. Here's the full screen-recorded session.""You wanna scare an indie king back into the palace? You better do better than that."
He stepped forward.
"I don't need a label to speak. I just need a mic.""And if you think this scares me… just wait for what comes next."
💥 The Response Went Supernova.
#ChainlessTruth trended within an hour.
Producers from Tassara, creators from Crestlyn, even ex-label artists came out of the shadows with stories. Similar threats. Similar sabotage.
Liam had gone from rising artist to movement leader.
He didn't just survive the hit.
He weaponized it.
The End of Chapter 15