Web Fic
Chapter 464
Beside her, Michelle was fidgeting with her smartphone, her curiosity having gotten the better of her earlier, prompting her to screenshot the pre–nickname–change flurry of tips that had hit the chat. Now, she scrolled through her gallery, pulled up the images and mused, “I don’t think this is the work of haters.”
The transformation from ‘Miss‘ Minions‘ for ‘Heather is Shameless Squad‘ seemed to be a direct response to her cousin declaring those high–rolling fans as her own. It was after that claim that the tide turned.
Just this morning, that same crowd was spamming messages of encouragement like ‘Go Miss, you can do it!‘ which definitely meant they were rooting for someone.
The misunderstanding arose when her dear cousin assumed the ‘Miss‘ they referred to was her, leading to that awkward scene at noon.
There were only three women among the guests on the show, so…
A light bulb went off in Michelle’s head, her eyes widening as she turned to Heather, “Could it be that these people are from Juztin’s camp? Maybe he’s paying them to rally behind his sister, to build up her image?”
She knew herself well enough to admit she didn’t have such devoted fans. Eliminating her cousin from the equation left only Juztin’s
sister.
Michelle’s musings echoed the suspicions that Heather had been harboring all afternoon. Despite her belief that Juztin’s background was modest, his star status over the years must have netted him a
fortune. Dropping a few million in tips wouldn’t be out of the question for him.
Then, something else occurred to Michelle. She tapped her phone back to life and revisited the livestream.screenshots. She noticed that the broadcast’s split–screen had only three pairs, and notably absent was the sibling duo.
“Look at this,” Michelle said, showing Heather the phone. “During the tipping frenzy at noon, the act of them wasn’t even on camera. That’s odd, isn’t it? It’s like… they set you up to be embarrassed on air.”
Heather’s eyes
fell on the evidence, and the missing piece of the puzzle clicked into place. There was no need for further scrutiny. The truth was clear.
The whole charade of tipping extravagantly and then playing ignorant, only to have someone humiliate her in the process–it was quite the strategy.
Heather’s face turned a steely shade of grey. She’d been in the business long enough to have seen all manner of schemes, but this level. of malice was a first for her.
The assistant driving the car had been eavesdropping on the cousins‘ conversation. After a few seconds of silence, he tried to offer some consolation. “I don’t think it’s that bad… I mean, Heather and Juztin don’t even run in the same circles and have no overlapping interests. There’s no reason to do something like this.”
And besides, in terms of clout, Juztin was clearly a notch above, though the assistant wisely kept that last thought to himself. He knew Heather all too well – short–tempered, vindictive, and only receptive to praise.
With a scoff and a roll of her eyes, Michelle pocketed her phone and said lightly, “Who can say? Maybe they’re just looking for an excuse to drag my cousin down. Just another day in showbiz.”
The assistant gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter and returned to his silence.
Michelle then looked back at Heather and added, “Considering the minor clashes we’ve had with those siblings in the past episodes, today’s sick stunt seems like a predictable next step.”
She couldn’t help but think the worst of people, especially when it came to Mirabella’s arrogant demeanor, parading around on livestreams as some mysterious high school prodigy. “Never seen anyone so shameless,” Michelle thought.
Heather’s face, usually so carefully made up, was now expressionless. She turned to gaze out the car window, her eyes a turbulent mix of emotions. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.