Chapter 11 Smear
After the film wrapped, Graciela took part in a few variety
shows thanks to Helena’s efforts. Though her roles were
nothing major, she gradually attracted attention because of her pretty look.
One day, she was practicing dancing while sweating profusely when Nora suddenly texted her.
“Grace, check out Twitter! You’ve made it to the trending topic
list!”
Graciela was baffled.
She opened Twitter and saw an official tweet from Otterberg’s cyber police, commending citizens who had made contributions
to aiding in safeguarding the city recently.
Her face was so stunning that, unlike the others, she still looked
perfect under the police’s unflattering camera. She stood out at
once and was praised by clickbait accounts, calling her “Miss Perfect“. Within hours, posts about her were retweeted millions
of times.
She got lucky just like that.
She and Ambrose had taken the robber to the police that day,
and the cops had insisted on taking individual photos of them
both.
Ambrose had said no, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so
because the cops were so persistent.
It had never occurred to her that she’d gain popularity because
of this.
Helena took the chance and nailed a few deals for her. Soon, her
face was everywhere online, and her Twitter following blew
- up.
Naturally, fans started to dig into her past.
They managed to uncover practically everything about her,
including the agency she had signed with, her agent, her
financial status, and every show and drama she had ever taken
part in.
Someone found out that she had appeared in the same film
Leanna had starred in after returning to the country.
Fans immediately bombarded the film’s official account with
comments, pledging support for the film since it had both
Leanna and Graciela, two stunningly beautiful actresses.
In the makeup room, Leanna smashed the script to the ground,
utterly furious.
She thought, “This is my first film after leaving Haleywood. I’m
supposed to be everyone’s attention! Yet Graciela tries to steal
the thunder?
“You bitch, Graciela! How come you’re everywhere?”
Her face twisted in fury, making her look ferocious.
Her assistant quickly blocked the door so that others wouldn’t
see her like this.
“Calm down, Leanna. You asked me to have someone follow
Graciela, right? They told me something.”
Her assistant whispered in her ear, “She ate with a man at
Pinnacle Restaurant the day her filming wrapped up.”
Leanna hadn’t been back long, but she knew Pinnacle
Restaurant was the most upscale restaurant in Otterberg. It
only served limited diners every day and was operated on a
reservation–only basis. Most diners were either rich or noble.
She had only been able to dine there once thanks to Lamar.
“I heard Graciela has never had any money, not even when she
was with Mr. Arellano,” Leanna’s assistant continued while observing her expression. “She has no family or friends and definitely can’t afford to eat there. She was probably with her sugar daddy.”
Leanna instantly wasn’t that sullen anymore. She adjusted her expression in the mirror and asked, “Did they get any photos?”
Her assistant handed her the phone.
Frowning, she said in dissatisfaction, “You can’t even see the man’s face clearly!”
Her assistant, who had taken money from the paparazzi, quickly defended them, “The privacy measures taken by Pinnacle Restaurant are watertight, and the paparazzi did the best they could. Besides, who cares who that man is? He might
be her sugar daddy–that’s what matters.”
After pondering for a while, Leanna said, lowering her voice,
“Get the photos out. Make sure this can’t be traced back to us.”
Days passed, and as netizens‘ attention gradually shifted to
other news, Graciela’s popularity dropped. Just then, a new post
appeared on Twitter.
It included a photo of Graciela dining with a man at Pinnacle
Restaurant as well as a detailed analysis, coming to the
conclusion that Graciela couldn’t afford a meal at Pinnacle
Restaurant on her own. After all, she was poor and had just
joined showbiz. The only possibility was she, the so–called “Miss Perfect“, was a gold digger.
The post immediately caught the attention of netizens, who had been itching for something new.
They dug into every detail of the post, verifying its authenticity.
As it turned out, every detail checked out.
Pinnacle Restaurant wasn’t somewhere a Z–list celebrity could
afford.
Graciela’s reputation went down the drain overnight.
Netizen A: “My heart broke. This is who Miss Perfect really is?”
Netizen B: “Hey, stop calling her ‘perfect“!”
Netizen C: “What a shame. With that pretty face of hers, she
could have made it on her own merit. Why did she have to be
with a sugar daddy?”
Netizen D: “Who says he’s her sugar daddy? She’s so pretty.
Can’t he be a rich man who’s been trying to win her favor?”
Netizen E: “Yeah, right. If he loves her that much, where’s he
now? Shouldn’t he be clarifying things now to stand for her?”
Netizen F: “Guys, pretty women are all rotten. I mean every one of them.”
Graciela felt a headache coming on as she checked the
comments.
Helena comforted her, “Chill. It’s not as bad as you think. It’s paid
trolls who are stirring the pot mostly. Just ignore them. Our
priority now is to figure out who’s behind them. Let’s be
patient.“”
Graciela had never dealt with something like this. Knowing
being anxious wouldn’t help, she nodded and waited in patience.
Soon, more information surfaced.
Some clickbait accounts posted an article, claiming that her role
in the same film as Leanna was exactly a reward from her sugar
daddy.
In the post, a crew member revealed that though Leanna wasn’t
satisfied with Graciela’s acting, she still voluntarily coached
Graciela because she treated the film as her priority.
But Graciela didn’t appreciate it and even called her a busybody,
saying she was nothing compared to Betty.
As if on cue, Leanna went live on stream. Her fans immediately asked her if the post was authentic.
She was stunned for a second before forcing a smile, her eyes
reddening slightly. “Grace is right. Betty is indeed better than me.”
With that, she quickly stopped live streaming despite her fans‘ strong opposition.
Furious, they bombarded Graciela’s Twitter account, hurling
insults at her.
Fan A: “You should be lucky Leanna offered to coach you!”
Fan B: “What a shameless, ungrateful bitch!”
Fan C: “Quit the film! We don’t want you in Leanna’s film!”
Fan D: “Cancel Graciela! Cancel Graciela! Cancel Graciela!”
At this point, no one dared to defend Graciela anymore.
After all, Leanna had been an actress for years with countless
die-hard fans and stans, and no one wanted trouble.
However, Graciela and Helena were relieved. Now they knew
how to cope with the situation after knowing who was behind
- it.
Helena was puzzled. “When did you cross Leanna? Why is she targeting you so hard? Did something happen on set?”
Graciela sighed, “I have no idea. She’s had it out for me since the second I showed up on set. Who knows what’s wrong with
her?”
