His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: "Your pride is worth 0.3 BTC. You have until the Orion campaign launches. Then we send the original, unretouched layers to the client. The ones with the mirrored Coke bottle. The copyright tattoo on the model's wrist. The competitor's logo in the background reflection."

He saved the PSD. Exported the finals. Sent the email.

Pause. Then: "Accepted."

He stared at the deadline. The unpaid electric bill. The last three jobs that had fallen through. He typed: "My pride."