Chapter 186 Betrayal
This dude Rex, he's the big cheese at Lee Corporation in Nuw Yark.
In the entertainment biz, folks might not know his name, but anyone who’s clued into Lee Corporation knew he’s got mad power and influence!
A ton of big-name talent agencies were backed by Lee Corporation.
Out of the top fifty, about a third were tied to Lee Corporation, and their artists included top-tier stars and even superstars.
This whole setup was like a massive web of connections.
Lee Corporation was sitting pretty at the top of this food chain!
Even the big film groups and major portals gotta show some respect to Lee Corporation!
And then there's this famous director, Mr. Lee, who’s basically Rex’s lackey.
Tiger’s gig? Scouting hot, charismatic girls who wanna be actresses.
He’d serve these girls up to the big shots, and when they were happy, movie investments just rolled in.
If he found a girl who was drop-dead gorgeous, he wouldn’t dare keep her for himself. Those prime picks were for Rex to choose from first!
Flashback to a year ago.
At some fancy dinner party.
Mr. Lee had plans to introduce Grace to Mr. Lee.
But guess what? That chick actually said no. A small-time actress who got a bit of fame from a web series had the guts to snub Young Master Lee.
And, of course, she got blacklisted in less than a month. Her agent threw her under the bus, mistress scandals popped up, diva rumors spread, and the company started blaming her for everything. Endorsement deals demanded breach of contract compensation.
Grace’s rep was totally trashed!
No way she was making a comeback.
Mr. Lee had been in the game for years.
He’d seen all kinds of artists.
He wouldn’t usually go all out to ruin a small fry.
But Grace ticked off not just him, but the eldest son of Lee Corporation!
A year went by, and he almost forgot about it.
He was always busy, either hitting the nightlife, working on set, attending dinner parties, or having late-night script meetings with some small star!
But then last week, outta nowhere, Rex called Mr. Lee, asking about Grace!
Mr. Lee was shocked that after a year, Mr. Lee still remembered Grace, this small-time star.
Grace was definitely a looker.
He figured after a year of being blacklisted, she’d have learned her lesson.
So he called Grace, offering her a chance to "turn over a new leaf"!
But the very next day, that chick blasted him on Twitter!
Mr. Lee used his connections to squash the drama.
Since she was so ungrateful, he decided she didn’t deserve another chance!
He planned to keep her down.
But before he could make a move, Olivia exposed him!
A series of hits left him no room to fight back.
The other side’s astroturfers were too strong, even his top-notch PR team couldn’t handle it!
This whole mess blew up so bad it started shining a light on all the shady stuff in the entertainment industry, grabbing attention from all corners of society!
Mr. Lee had no choice but to pull out his last card—calling Mr. Lee for backup!
He grabbed his private phone and dialed Rex, "Hey, Mr. Lee, it's me. I need a favor!"
"I know what's going on. Lay low for a while. Put your money where it matters and silence the naysayers. I'll handle this, but just this once. A loyal dog is useful, but if it keeps causing trouble..."
"I get it, Mr. Lee. I swear, it won't happen again!"
After hanging up, Mr. Lee wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Mr. Lee was young, not even thirty, but every time Mr. Lee talked to him, he felt the pressure big time.
The small starlet next to him was almost in shock.
Seeing someone as powerful as Mr. Lee being so humble? What kind of crazy background did this Mr. Lee have?
Next morning.
Grace was still in bed when she got a call from Olivia. "Grace, something's up. Check Twitter, quick!"
"What’s going on?" Grace scrambled to open Twitter.
There it was, a trending headline that screamed for attention.
[Grace Hooks Up with Wealthy Man Again, Trying to Buy Her Way Back into the Industry, Bribes Artist to Slander Others, Tina Exposes Video!]
She clicked on the trending topic.
Sure enough, it was a video.
"Hey everyone, I'm Tina, a small-time actress who once had a bit part in Mr. Lee's movie. I'm really sorry, my last tweet about being taken advantage of by Mr. Lee was a lie. Someone paid me two hundred grand to smear Mr. Lee. As a struggling actress, I needed the money for my mortgage, so I went against my conscience.
I made up a bunch of lies.
I apologize for the damage my lies caused to Mr. Lee.
I'll return the money, and you can all hate on me. I know I was greedy, but now I see the light!
Ever since I took the money, my conscience has been killing me. This isn't money I earned honestly, and I can't throw away my professional ethics for it!"
Watching Tina’s self-recorded video, Grace was floored.
Tina talking about professional ethics? Seriously?
She took two hundred grand, and now, just a few days later, she’s flipping the script. She must’ve gotten more cash from Mr. Lee.
But the crazy part?
A lot of people actually bought it!
Looking at the comments under the video.
There were already over fifty thousand.
"Did Grace really hook up with a rich guy again? She's such a snake!"
"She's so pretty, why does she keep playing the mistress card?"
"She wants a clean rep? Get lost, gross!"
"Tina, you're a sellout. You took the money and now you're backpedaling. You're trash too. It's obvious why you changed your story!"
"Did Grace really bribe Tina? If so, did Mr. Lee really take advantage of her? This is getting messy!"
Reading the comments, Grace was about to lose it.
This was clearly driven by paid trolls.
But the drama didn’t stop there.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
