Chapter 1: The Hundred-Dollar Challenge

The sun beat down on the cracked sidewalks as I shuffled along, battered sneakers crunching through stray soda cans and shards of broken glass. Downtown buzzed with the usual traffic and snatches of laughter drifting from open windows. But today, something different pulled my attention—a crowd had formed up ahead, clustered around a man with a ring light and a phone clamped to a tripod.

"Hey, ma’am! Here’s a hundred bucks—go wild, get whatever you want. I’ll cover it, promise."

He was the type you see on TikTok all the time—loud, all energy and show, grinning like he practiced in the mirror. I stared at the crisp bill he pressed into my palm, its edges sharp and the faint scent of ink and new money cutting through the street’s grime. My fingers trembled around the bill. For a second, I let myself imagine what it would feel like to be seen as more than a charity case. Then I smiled, keeping my relief carefully muted.

He had no idea what I planned to do with that hundred dollars.

I kept my face neutral, but inside, gears were turning—mapping out the steps ahead, clinging to hope, bracing for disappointment. The ring light’s glare made me squint, and the camera’s red eye tracked my every move, making my skin prickle. The chat scrolled by, thousands of strangers dissecting my every gesture. They all thought this was just another feel-good video. They had no idea.

In front of more than a hundred thousand viewers on the livestream, I would openly and without hesitation kill three people.