But after three years of writing clickthrough reports and sitting through meetings that could have been emails, Emma started to feel like a ghost. She had opinions—sharp, funny, slightly obsessive opinions about why brand mascots were making a comeback. She’d stay up late sketching a theory about how the Kool-Aid Man was actually a perfect metaphor for disruptive marketing. She never posted any of it.

Emma had always been careful online. Her Instagram was a polished grid of latte art, golden hour shadows, and the occasional book quote. Her LinkedIn was a sterile resume in post form. She was a marketing coordinator at a mid-sized firm, and she knew the rules: don’t post anything your boss wouldn’t like, never complain, and for God’s sake, no hot takes.

Three months later, she launched her own micro-consultancy. She didn’t have a website, just a Linktree and a content calendar. Her first client came from a DM. Her second from a referral. Her third from a viral video about why the Geico gecko deserved a raise.

Then the layoffs came. Six people in her department, Emma included. The severance was fair, the shock was real, and the silence on her phone was deafening.