A video of me scolding a kid went viral on the trending charts, and netizens quickly dug up the boy's identity: the son of Manhattan's most untouchable billionaire heir. My biggest rival tweeted a public condemnation: [She looks so glamorous on the outside, but who knew she was a child abuser in private! Is she picking on him because he doesn't have a mother?] My anti-fans united to boycott me, screaming for me to get the hell out of the entertainment industry. Me: "?" Wait... who said this kid doesn't have a mother? That very night, the billionaire heir tagged me on Twitter: [Allow me to introduce everyone to my wife.] 1 Early in the morning, before I was even fully awake, my manager Brenda burst in from outside in an absolute panic. "Harper, you're done for!" I was completely bewildered, but her face looked like the sky had fallen. "How could you dare hit Carter Sterling's son?" Me: "???" Brenda quickly unlocked her phone and shoved it into my hands. There it was, a video titled "Harper Hayes Child Abuse" sitting at the very top of the trending list. In the video, I was pinching the cheeks of a three-to-five-year-old kid, my mouth moving as I rambled on, scolding him about something. The little boy looked teary-eyed, standing there not daring to move an inch. Because of the camera angle, my expression—which had actually been affectionate—looked incredibly harsh and strict in the video. [Oh my god, is that Harper Hayes? What is she doing!] [Hurting a kid? That poor boy looks so pitiful!] [That's not just hurting a kid, that's child abuse! Industry insiders have been saying for ages that Harper has a selfish, explosive temper and uses violence to vent! I didn't expect her to target children now! Look at that terrifying expression on her face!] Below the video, there was a mountain of comments spreading rumors and cursing me out. Of course, there were a few trying to defend me. That is, until someone posted a photo. It was a picture of Carter Sterling holding hands with a three-to-five-year-old boy at an event. In the photo, the man wore a sharp black suit. His pale, devastatingly handsome face and deep, dark eyes radiated a cold, unapproachable distance. The kid holding his hand looked like he was carved out of the exact same mold! [Holy crap! That kid is Carter Sterling's son!] Everyone knew that Carter Sterling, the crown prince of Manhattan's elite, had a son. No one had ever seen the birth mother, but Carter spoiled the boy to the heavens from the day he was born. The kid wasn't allowed to suffer so much as a scratch. No matter what Carter did, he took his son with him. Once, a rival company tried to "invite" little Theo over for a chat behind Carter's back. Even though they failed, the billionaire heir flew into a terrifying rage and ruthlessly acquired every single company under that rival's name. That incident sent shockwaves through the entire elite circle. Once this photo dropped, the internet went dead silent for a moment before erupting into an even more massive uproar. Those who had been defending me didn't dare make a peep. [Harper is finished! She is completely done for! Who gave her the nerve to abuse Carter Sterling's son!] [Harper deserves it! I've hated her for ages, and now she's basically forfeited her own life!] At the same time, some celebrities jumped into the fray. Among them was my biggest rival, the rising starlet Stella Montgomery. Since her debut, she had skyrocketed to fame by copying my outfits and acting roles, earning her the nickname "Little Harper." But unlike me, she loved playing the pure, innocent victim on the internet. Stella posted a tweet: [I never imagined that someone who looks so glamorous on the surface could be so ruthless. She actually committed child abuse! Doesn't this cross the line into criminal liability?] She also tagged several high-profile lawyers in the comments. Although she didn't mention my name, everyone knew exactly who she was talking about. Instantly, her traffic skyrocketed, and her comment section was flooded with vitriol aimed at me. 2 I am the queen of controversial publicity in the industry. I have a legion of loyal fans, but an equally massive army of anti-fans. The tiniest thing about me gets infinitely magnified and sent rocketing up the trending charts. Let alone right now, when my name was sitting right next to "Child Abuse" and "Billionaire Heir." Brenda's phone was ringing off the hook. If, at the very beginning of the scandal, brand sponsors and partners were just watching from the shadows without making a move... Now that it was revealed the kid was Carter Sterling's son, they were all calling to terminate my contracts. Me: "..." Carter and I have been secretly married for five years. Theo is my son. Seeing how cute my son is, I couldn't resist pinching his cheeks—is that a crime? That day, I had just finished an appearance and was rushing to the next one when my son showed up. He pitifully told me that Daddy had prepared a candlelight dinner and wanted to invite me home to eat together. Three meals a day? Carter could prepare six! The veins on my forehead throbbed. I was afraid the paparazzi would photograph the kid—after all, it wasn't as safe for him to be with me as it was with Carter—so I scolded him a bit and told him to hurry back. I didn't expect to actually get caught by the paparazzi, and for them to twist it into me committing child abuse. Brenda collapsed onto the sofa, wailing, "It's over, it's over... it's all over." Looking at her state, I felt a bit bad. "Brenda, maybe there's still a turnaround for this..." But before I could finish, Brenda cut me off, sobbing: "What turnaround?! Everyone knows you don't mess with Carter Sterling's son! You could have pinched anyone, you could have pinched me! Why did you have to go and provoke his son..." I opened my mouth, about to say something to her, when Brenda's phone rang again. By the time she finished the call and came back, her eyes were shining. "Harper, a reality TV show wants you! They're offering three times your usual quote! Let's do one last big job before we get forced to retire!" Me: "..." Looking at Brenda's expression, I sighed helplessly and nodded. 3 It was a travel reality show. The producers clearly valued the heat from me getting trashed online. Besides inviting me, they also invited Stella. The entire show was broadcast live. By the time I arrived, Stella was facing the cameras, giving a legal PSA: "Child abuse is punishable by law. Under severe circumstances, it constitutes a felony and can lead to prison time..." The live chat was filled with comments praising Stella for being beautiful and kind-hearted. However, the moment she saw me, Stella's face turned freezing cold. The camera shifted to me, and the live chat started scrolling wildly. [Damn! How does Harper still have the nerve to show her face in public and join a reality show?!] [Where are the police?! Where are the police! Why haven't they arrested Harper yet! She committed a crime!] [Five stars for Stella. Our Stella is just straightforward and hates injustice! The moment she laid eyes on Harper, you could clearly see she was angry!] [That was child abuse! I was furious just watching it! Get the hell out of the entertainment industry, toxic Harper!] Stella walked right up to me and said, "Harper, do you have anything you want to say about abusing a child?" I sneered. "I have absolutely nothing to say to you. If you're sick, don't come to me. I'm not a veterinarian." My reputation online was already garbage, and I had been sick of Stella for ages anyway, so I didn't hold back at all. Stella's face flushed red, seemingly from pure anger. The netizens in the live stream launched a fresh wave of attacks against me. [Damn! That bitch Harper, how dare she call Stella sick?!] [Toxic Harper! I want to rip your face off!] [To be honest, I kind of agree with what Harper said. Looking at that video alone, she just pinched the kid's cheeks. It doesn't reach the level of child abuse. It's one thing for netizens to gossip, but Stella, a public figure, directly slapped the 'child abuser' label on Harper and is lecturing about the law on a live stream to control the narrative. She deserves to get cursed out.] [To the person above, you're disgusting too. You probably enjoy abusing kids in your free time, huh?] There were people speaking up for me in the live chat, but they were quickly drowned out by the overwhelming insults. Stella let out a cold laugh. "Harper, don't be so arrogant and reckless. This is a society governed by law! Everyone has to take responsibility for what they've done! Carter is not going to let you get away with this!" Carter. What the hell was that about? The live stream viewers were just as curious. [Carter? Does she mean Carter Sterling?] [Could it be that our goddess Stella has some kind of relationship with the billionaire heir? Otherwise, why would she call him 'Carter'?] [Ahhhhh, Stella, hurry up and tell us! What's going on!] Stella saw the scrolling comments in the live chat. She took a deep breath, a smirk playing on her lips, and spoke to the camera: "That's right, I originally didn't want to say anything. But Harper went too far. She actually bullied my little nephew!" "As his aunt, I really couldn't stand by and watch anymore, so I had to step forward! The truth is, I am Carter Sterling's cousin!" Carter's cousin? Why didn't I know about this! 4 Stella's words undoubtedly created a massive tidal wave in the live stream. The chat was boiling over. [Holy shit! Stella is actually Carter Sterling's cousin?! She hid it so well. We never heard a single whisper of this before!] [Waaaah, I'm crying. Our Stella really comes from a great family, and she's beautiful and hardworking. She deserves to be a superstar!] [Harper is completely screwed now, right? Bullying the little Sterling heir, and now look, his aunt is standing right here!] [At first I thought Stella was just trying to ride the clout wave, but I didn't expect she actually just couldn't stand it anymore and stepped up to protect her family.] I furrowed my brow, voicing the confusion in my heart out loud: "Why didn't I know you were Carter's cousin?" Carter is an only child. Although he and I are secretly married to the public, I know almost all of his relatives. I had never heard of him having a cousin. Seeing the viewer count in the live stream rocketing upwards, the director was also getting excited. After all, the name "Carter Sterling" itself represented traffic and power. But Carter was unreachable; they couldn't get near him. Now that "Carter's cousin" had appeared right in front of them, the director definitely had to seize the opportunity! Immediately, the director instructed the cameraman to give Stella a close-up and asked, "Stella, so you hiding your identity in the industry... was that just you wanting to experience a normal life?" Stella offered a modest, elegant smile to the camera. "Being an entertainer is my dream. The reason I didn't say anything before was that I didn't want people to mistakenly think my achievements were handed to me by my cousin. I wanted to prove my own abilities to everyone." [Oh my god! I love Stella so much! She is so hardworking!] [Like I said, stanning Goddess Stella is never a loss!] Stella's quotes rushed straight to the trending list. #StellaMontgomeryIsAHiddenHeiress #StellaMontgomeryHidesIdentityToChaseDreams Several hashtags maintained constant heat, and her follower count was shooting up exponentially. Of course, I only learned all this from the discussions among the nearby staff. When recording a show, guests' cell phones are confiscated. The director struck while the iron was hot: "Stella, we're heading to the Hamptons next to film. I heard Mr. Sterling owns a massive mansion in the Hamptons. Could you talk to Mr. Sterling and see if he'd lend that mansion to our production crew for a few days?" "No problem," Stella agreed immediately. I narrowed my eyes. Carter did indeed own a mansion in the Hamptons. I was the one who picked it out. The scenery around it was beautiful, and it was huge—more than enough to house a production crew. That mansion was registered under my name. "Did you ask the owner before you just agreed?" Stella frowned, looking at me with dissatisfaction. "My cousin and I have always been very close. What's the problem with me borrowing his place for a few days?" A young woman in a short white skirt standing next to Stella immediately linked arms with her. "Stella, maybe some people are just jealous of you. Let's ignore her." This was another female guest participating in the show, named Aubrey Paige. There were six people in total recording this show. Aside from me, Stella, and Aubrey, there were three male guests. The five of them stood together, distancing themselves from me. Off-camera, my manager Brenda kept frantically winking at me, signaling me not to argue with them. I pinched my palms and didn't say another word. I also wanted to see if Stella could actually get inside that mansion in the Hamptons.
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