?Chapter 52:


    The moment Elliana appeared on screen, the once-buzzing chat room fell into stunned silence.


    But itsted only a heartbeat—before exploding into a frenzy of ridicule.


    “Wait… Is that Elliana? The infamous in Jane?”


    “Her makeup’s doing more harm than good—my eyes!”


    “No offense, but this is nightmare fuel—literal nightmare fuel.”


    “Forget the details—just looking at her, I know she’s the problem in that drama with Paige.”


    “Does this show air past midnight? Because honestly, that face is horror-movie material.”


    “Who gave her the audacity to appear on a variety show next to someone as stunning as Paige?”


    As if pouring oil on the fire, the production team yed into the chaos—cutting to a split-screen of Elliana and Paige standing side by side. The contrast was brutal. And thement section went wild.


    “Props to the editing team! That side-by-side shot is brutal—brilliantly brutal!”


    “The difference is staggering. One looks like a goddess, while the other looks like a ghost that crawled out of a grave.”


    “I get it now—Paige is the star, the main act. Elliana? She’s the punchline. The tragic joke everyone tunes in tough at.”


    The chat room, restricted to cold, cruel lines of text, could barely contain the flood of reactions. Had the viewers been in the same room, it would’ve sounded like a madhouseughter crashing like thunder, chairs scraping back in shock, people pping tables, wiping tears from their eyes. It was chaos. A circus. And Elliana was the clown who didn’t know she’d stepped into the ring.


    Elliana’s appearance sent the live viewership soaring, skyrocketing from thousands to millions, thrusting the broadcast straight to the top of the trending charts.


    Haley, the immoral director, sensing gold, gave a quietmand to the crew to keep the cameras on Elliana.


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    Soon, the chat’s tone shifted—but not toward mercy.


    “What was Elliana thinking, walking out like that? Does she not own a mirror?”


    “I heard she burned her house down when she was five. Her mom died in the fire, and she got disfigured.”


    “I mean, sure, it’s sad. But sympathy ends when you’re the one who started the fire. She’s no victim. She’s a monster with lipstick.”


    A towering screen beside the camera fed a constant stream of the live chat, fully visible to the guests.


    Elliana’s humiliation yed out in real-time, her name dragged through the digital mud by millions. And around her, not a single sympathetic face. Only thinly veiled glee.


    Especially Paige—smiling sweetly for the camera, but inside, she was reveling in it. This? This was merely the opening act. Elliana would suffer much more before the curtains closed.


    But Elliana didn’t flinch. As the chat dredged up her old scars and the fire that marred her childhood, she simply curled her lips—not in shame, but in quiet defiance. This was why she hade. To rip open the lies sealed fifteen years ago. To clear her name. And to drag the truth—kicking and screaming—into the light.


    Haley, handpicked by Royal Entertainment, yed her part like a puppet on Paige’s strings. She let the torment stretch, milking every cruelment, every sneer, before finally speaking in that polished, professional tone. “Elliana, please share your motto with the audience.”


    Everyone expected Elliana to crumble—or retaliate in a fit of rage. After Kent’s thinly veiled threats, surely she’d back down.


    But Elliana didn’t even nce at Kent. Her gaze locked onto the camera lens like a loaded gun. “I’m here to uncover the truth behind that fire, and the real culprit should be the one trembling right now.”


    The studio froze. Paige and the crew were blindsided. No one had expected Elliana to go there. Not publicly. Not live. But by the time they scrambled to recover, it was toote. The chat had already turned.


    “Wait—Elliana’s saying she didn’t start the fire?”


    “If she’s this bold on live TV, maybe she really was framed.”


    “This just got juicy. From drama queens to criminal cover-ups!”


    “Didn’t Paige’s mom used to be a mistress? What if she wanted Elliana’s mother out of the way permanently?”


    The audience had lost interest in pretty faces. Now they wanted blood. And Paige, once worshipped by the crowd, could only watch as the tide swept her under—her mother’s past dragged up like a corpse from deep water.


    Rage and panic red behind Paige’s carefully maintained smile. And then, unable to stop herself, she snapped—blurting out something that would tip everything even further out of her control.


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