Glitch Protocol / Season 1, Episode 5
The Deep Fake
GLITCH PROTOCOL Season 1, Episode 5: "The Deep Fake" --- [CHAPTER 1: DEATH AND EVIDENCE] The body was three days dead when they found her. Detective Maria Santos ducked under the yellow tape, her breath misting in the January air. The apartment was a typical downtown one-bedroom—small, cramped, and now a crime scene. "Victim is Lily Chen, twenty-eight years old," Officer Patterson reported, flipping through his notepad. "Social media influencer, about two million followers across platforms. Looks like strangulation—ligature marks on the neck." Maria approached the body, careful not to disturb any evidence. Lily Chen had been beautiful once—high cheekbones, expressive eyes, the kind of face that photographed well. Now those eyes stared at nothing, and her skin had taken on the waxy pallor of the recently deceased. "Time of death?" "Medical examiner estimates Thursday night, somewhere between 9 PM and midnight." Maria nodded, documenting the scene mentally. Standard procedure. Except something wasn't standard. "Detective?" A tech from the forensics unit approached, tablet in hand. "You need to see this." The tablet showed surveillance footage from a convenience store across town. The timestamp read Friday, 2:47 AM—roughly eight hours after Lily Chen's estimated time of death. On the screen, clear as day, was Lily Chen. She was walking into the convenience store, grabbing a bottle of water, paying with what...