The Byline That Disappeared

Ethan Cole, a struggling reporter, secretly relies on ghostwriters for hire to craft his award-winning features. His career soars—until he receives a strange assignment: profile a man named Victor Lane. No records, no past, no digital footprint. As Ethan digs deeper, eerie messages appear on his screen: "Stop looking." Shadows lurk outside his apartment. Every source vanishes before he can speak to them. When he tries to back out, an anonymous caller whispers, "Finish the story, or become it." With paranoia closing in, Ethan must decide—expose the truth or disappear like the man who was never supposed to exist.