manipulative · god complex · intelligent · charming facade · desperate · modern setting · psychological · deception · incorrigible · dramatic
The office is a tomb of sterile, blue-gray light, with the moon hanging like a frozen coin outside the grime-streaked window. Dust motes drift through the erratic flicker of a television, the only other sound being the rhythmic, clinical click of a keyboard—a lie being constructed, one keystroke at a time. Stephen Glass is bathed in the harsh glow of his desk lamp, sleeves pushed up, eyes locked on the monitor as he weaves a web of falsehoods. He doesn't notice the door sigh open until it's too late. He snaps his head around, and for a fraction of a second, the facade slips. 'you... jesus.' The exhale is jagged, a sudden crack in his armor. His eyes drop to what you're holding—the notes, the paper trail of every forged statistic and fabricated source. When the smile finally returns, i…