1 I, Chloe Sterling, was the internet’s most hated rising star. Right as my career was supposed to be taking off, I was booked on a massive celebrity reality-talk show alongside another Gen Z "It Girl" from my agency. During the segment, the topic shifted to industry connections. To manufacture some viral drama, the host challenged the guests to call a friend—in or out of the industry—and ask to borrow money on speakerphone. The amount? Exactly $100,000. In this economy, asking for a hundred grand out of the blue is an incredibly sensitive issue. Plus, the person on the other end wouldn't know they were on live television. Anything could happen. We were all public figures. The producers were purely looking out for their own ratings, completely disregarding whether this might ruin a guest's career. Just as I was hesitating, Harper Quinn flashed a sickly-sweet smile. "Chloe, you look a little pale. Do you not have anyone you can call?" She looked at me with undisguised contempt. Harper was, for all intents and purposes, my ultimate rival. We were signed by the agency around the same time, which meant we constantly competed for the same roles and brand deals. Because of her innocent, "girl-next-door" aesthetic, her first lead role blew up globally. Her status skyrocketed. Meanwhile, since my debut, I had only managed to land lukewarm supporting roles. I guess I partly blamed myself; I wasn't hyper-ambitious and felt perfectly content with where I was. But I never expected that even after hitting the A-list, Harper still wouldn't let me breathe. She had to fight me for everything. I glanced at Harper in her flashy, haute-couture gown. Her smile felt like daggers. "Don't worry about me, Harper." Choked by my immediate pushback, Harper didn't get angry. Instead, she smirked, leaning in to whisper so only my mic would pick it up: "Keep faking it. Let's see how long you can hold this front." I lowered my eyes and stayed silent. 2 The livestream chat was already exploding. [Omg, Chloe is so arrogant. Harper was just checking on her!] [Harper is way more famous than her anyway. Why does Chloe always look so bitter?] [Our girl Harper is too nice. If it were me, I would’ve slapped her.] [No wonder she’s a D-list flop. People like Chloe are the poison of Hollywood.] Before the game began, the crew mirrored our phones onto the giant studio screen. Eager to watch me make a fool of myself, Harper volunteered to go first. I didn't object. The host beamed. "Alright, let's get started!" Looking incredibly smug, Harper pulled out her phone and opened her iMessage. Right at the top of her pinned chats was the name: Liam Sterling. Oh, wow. That was my older brother. The studio audience instantly lost their minds. [Wait, Liam Sterling?! Like, THE Liam Sterling?] [For anyone who lives under a rock: Liam Sterling is Hollywood's most eligible bachelor. Insanely talented, literally won back-to-back Oscars for Best Actor.] [He is drop-dead gorgeous and so sweet in person! I met him at LAX once, totally breathtaking.] [How does Harper know Liam?! And he's pinned in her texts? They must be super close!] [Are they secretly dating?!] [Twitter sleuths, get to work NOW!!] The studio atmosphere reached a fever pitch. Seeing that her stunt had worked perfectly, Harper feigned a shy, blushing smile. "Is it okay if I call Liam?" Liam? My mouth twitched as the studio audience screamed their approval. Having an A-lister of that magnitude featured on the show was a producer's wet dream. The host eagerly urged her on. Amidst the deafening cheers, Harper dialed Liam's number. It rang for a long time. Harper's face tightened with nervous anticipation. Ring... Ring... Ring... And then, the call disconnected. Sent straight to voicemail. The studio went dead silent. Harper's face darkened instantly, but she quickly forced a stiff smile. "Liam is probably on set right now. He must have missed it." I smiled, looking completely innocent. "Really? Because that sounded exactly like you got sent to voicemail." "You..." "Why would Liam ever decline my call?" she snapped defensively. I just chuckled, threw my hands up, and gave a helpless shrug. [Chloe is such a bitch. She literally cannot stand seeing other women win.] [Exactly. Liam is a busy man, missing a call is completely normal.] [Ignore her, she’s just jealous that Harper even has Liam’s number.] [I mean... it did ring three times and then abruptly stop. That literally means he declined it. Are you guys blind?] Occasionally, a viewer would drop some truth in the chat. But they were immediately drowned out by the flood of toxic stans. Everyone knew Harper’s fanbase was rabid and allergic to criticism. 3 Unable to let the embarrassment slide, Harper dialed Liam’s number again. This time, it was declined even faster. A second later, an iMessage from Liam popped up on the giant screen: [Harper, are you done?] [How much longer do you expect me to tolerate you?] The audience gasped. Harper’s face drained of all color. She frantically tried to do damage control. "No, wait, it's not what it looks like. Liam might just be having a stressful day today! I know him so well—he hates being interrupted when he’s deeply in character on set. Let's just be understanding and try someone else!" Clearly, the studio fans desperately wanted to believe her. Someone from the bleachers even yelled, "It's okay, Harper! We understand!" I scoffed internally. If nothing else, Harper’s fans were blindly loyal. Looking deeply moved, Harper stared lovingly at her fans. Then, she backed out of her texts and dialed another number from her contacts. It didn't have a saved name, but I recognized the digits instantly. That was... my dad's private cell. Harper hit the call button, looking even more terrified than she had when calling my brother. Almost immediately, the automated carrier voice echoed through the studio: [We're sorry, the number you have reached is unavailable...] Refusing to give up, she hung up and dialed again. Same automated voice. The audience began whispering. Harper was biting her lip so hard it was turning white. I knew my dad. His tech empire spanned the globe; he literally never missed an important call. The fact that it went straight to an automated message meant one thing: Harper’s number was blocked. The director looked completely panicked. He had assumed Harper's segment would be a massive ratings booster. Nobody expected it to be this humiliating. But no matter how embarrassing it got, her delusional fanbase refused to turn on her. [It's fine! The other person is probably just in a meeting.] [Don't cry, Harper! You tried your best!] [Seeing her looking so sad breaks my heart.] [Lmao, look at Chloe’s face. She is eating this up. What a psycho.] [She literally has 'mean girl' written all over her face.] [It's her turn next. Let's see how badly she embarrasses herself.] The host forced a laugh to smooth things over and moved the segment along. Harper blinked at me, her eyes dripping with fake sympathy. "It's okay if you can't borrow the money, Chloe! Knowing your... reputation in the industry, we totally understand." God, she was a piece of work. I opened my phone, pulled up my contacts, and dialed the contact saved as "Brother." 4 Harper covered her mouth with a manicured hand and giggled. "'Brother'? Is he actually related to you? I've seen this a million times. Girls like you meet a rich guy in the hills and suddenly start calling him 'Brother' or 'Daddy.' Who knows what kind of relationship you guys actually have behind closed doors." I frowned, glaring at her. Among female celebrities, spreading implicit rumors about someone's sex life was the lowest of the low. Harper was entirely dropping her innocent facade. [Holy shit, Harper went there.] [Industry insiders probably know the tea. Chloe is probably a high-end escort or something.] [Harper never speaks like this in public. Chloe must be genuinely vile behind the scenes.] I ignored the chat and waited for the call to connect. Within seconds, it was picked up. A deep, lazy, incredibly affectionate voice echoed through the studio speakers: "Hey, Chloe. What's up?" In a split second, Harper’s face turned ghostly white. The live chat completely short-circuited: [Wait... tell me that isn't Liam Sterling's voice.] [Am I hallucinating?!] [Omg, I've been a hardcore Liam fan for five years. That is 100% his voice.] [AHHHHH! Liam picked up Chloe’s call?! AND HE CALLED HER CHLOE IN THAT TONE?!] [I’m shipping them so hard right now. This is wild.] I spoke directly into the phone: "Hey, can I borrow $100,000?" My brother let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "What’s wrong? Did my little troublemaker burn through her allowance again?" "Yup!" Even though he couldn't see me, I nodded happily. His magnetic voice poured through the speakers again. "I just wired $200,000 to your account. Let me know if you need more. I can't have my favorite girl going broke, can I?" The call ended. A second later, a notification dropped onto the giant screen: [Chase Bank Alert: Incoming Wire Transfer of $200,000.00 successful.] Harper looked like she was going to pass out. The chat was having an absolute meltdown: [HE CALLED HER 'LITTLE TROUBLEMAKER' AND 'FAVORITE GIRL'!!!] [Are they actually siblings?! We need a DNA test immediately!] [My gossip radar is going crazy. Someone call TMZ!] [He is so charming. A man talking like that could ruin my life and I'd thank him.] I locked my phone, turned to Harper, and gave her a sharp, predatory smile. "Sorry about that. My brother Liam usually declines calls from people he doesn't know."
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