The clip spread faster than her first video. By nightfall, strangers online were calling Elias rude, bitter, jealous, and outdated. One comment said he should be grateful anyone cared about his dying little town. Elias read that one twice before shutting the screen off.
The next morning, Elias found two of his net crates dragged away from his slip and stacked beside the trash bins. A young production assistant was sweeping the dock with one hand and holding a clipboard in the other. “We just needed to clear the frame,” she said, as if that explained everything. When Elias lifted the top crate, he saw the corner of his best net pinched under it, torn clean through.