Zelu finishes editing Rusted Robots after more than two years of work. Sitting in her parents' home, she saves the manuscript, backs it up, and changes her laptop password to 'Bilbo.' Overwhelmed with emotion, she calls Msizi in Durban to share the news. Despite initially insisting no one will read it, she promises to send him the manuscript, which she does shortly after.

At 4 a.m. the next morning, Msizi video-calls from a Durban beach, having read all 500-plus pages in one night. He raves that it might be the best book he's ever read, praising its drama and its 'Africanness.' Because he had once brutally panned her previous novel, Zelu trusts his honesty, and his enthusiasm gives her the confidence to act.

Before she can second-guess herself, Zelu emails the manuscript to her agent, Jack Maher, vowing that if he doesn't respond well, she will quit writing entirely. To distract herself, she takes an autonomous vehicle to Navy Pier and stares at Lake Michigan for hours. When she returns home and tells her parents she finished her novel, they dismiss it and press her about job applications. Overhearing them worry she may be depressed, she retreats to her room.

By morning, Jack has left effusive messages declaring the book an instant bestseller. He calls only about market potential, never about her process or feelings. Within days, a bidding war erupts; Zelu signs a seven-figure, three-book deal. A major film studio options the series in another seven-figure deal, foreign rights sell, and media requests pour in. The publisher accelerates the release date. Zelu, stunned, tells no one—not her parents, friends, or even Msizi—as her life transforms with breathtaking speed.