Chapter 13 Start the Counterattack
“Okay!” Willa was straightforward. “I respect your choice. Don’t
worry. We’ll sort this out.”
“Thanks, Willa,” Graciela said, touched.
These were her family and friends.
The ones who had her back and respected her wishes.
Graciela said, “The guy I had dinner with that day was the one who caused my car accident. He said his name was Ambrose and invited me out to apologize. I thought about asking him to clear things up, but we’re not close, so it’s hard to bring up.”
“Ambrose?” Willa sounded a bit off.
“He said he was the heir to Morrison Jewelry,” Graciela added
excitedly. “Let me tell you, Willa. He’s super handsome. Those
deep–set eyes are really charming. With looks like that, if he got
into showbiz, he could almost rival Morton.”
“Oh, really?” Willa replied lightly, seeming uninterested. “Grace,
I gotta go. I’ve got stuff to do. I’ll catch up with you later. Have a
good rest and wait for my good news.”
“Okay. Bye, Willa.”
After hanging up, Graciela felt a bit strange. She thought, “Willa used to love talking about this kind of stuff. Why does she seem off today?
“Maybe it’s because she has lost five years of memories and doesn’t realize everyone has grown up.
“But Willa is really amazing.
“We’ve been best friends since high school, always hanging out
and living it up in our wild teenage years.
“And now, Willa has become a female CEO who can handle
anything on her own. I need to step it up too!”
Graciela cheered herself up. “Come on. I can shine too.”
In the afternoon, Gralla Entertainment’s official account sent a lawyer’s letter to the clickbait accounts, demanding they delete the posts within 24 hours and publicly apologize to Graciela, or face legal action. They also mentioned a few of the most vicious trolls, warning them to shut their mouths.
The wording was strict and the tone was serious, clearly
showing they were protecting Graciela.
This move sparked a lot of speculation.
“As far as I know, Graciela is just a newly debuted Z–lister. If
there’s a scandal, Gralla Entertainment could just shun her. Why all the fuss?”
“Exactly! Remember last time when their top actress had an accident? They also did the same thing.”
“But this actually shows Graciela has someone powerful backing her! Someone really big!”
“So Graciela has a sugar daddy?”
“Not necessarily. Maybe she’s innocent, and there’s stuff we don’t know!
“Alright, let’s drop this. No matter how unpopular Graciela is, she’s still making more than us. Let’s get back to work.”
But no matter what, sharp–eyed netizens realized Graciela
wasn’t some easy target anymore.
For a while, the Internet got a bit quieter.
Next, Gralla Entertainment announced a big–budget period
drama, adapted from a popular IP with a huge fan base. Instead
of directly casting the leads, they released the news, hoping
netizens would recommend candidates to find the perfect leads the public expects.
Gralla Entertainment was highly regarded in the industry for
its quality productions. They might not release many shows, but every drama was a hit.
With a reliable production company and a huge fan base, anyone starring in this drama would get a big career boost.
As soon as the news came out, everyone got excited and rushed
to the official account to recommend their idols.
1
For a while, netizens forgot all about Graciela.
The crisis was over, and Graciela let out a sigh of relief.
But the investigation into Leanna stalled.
“Her assistant is super loyal to Leanna. Even a huge bribe can’t
get her to talk,” Willa complained to Graciela on the phone. “I
heard she’s a die–hard fan. I don’t get it. Why would Leanna put
a die–hard fan by her side?”
Graciela chuckled, thinking of Leanna’s assistant’s arrogant
look. “It’s perfect. One acts like a queen, while the other is happy
to be a maid.”
She comforted Willa, “It’s okay. Take your time with the investigation. There’ll be clues eventually.”
“Yeah. You rest up for now. Once things cool down, let Helena
fight for a chance for you to get back on camera.”
Graciela agreed, “Okay!”
Though she was on a forced vacation, Graciela wasn’t idle.
She dove into film and TV, reading professional books, searching for top–tier actors online, watching their
performances, and taking notes. She felt like she had learned a
lot.
Two performances left a deep impression on her.
One was Morton. In her mind, Morton had always been
energetic and lively. As a kid, he was always chasing cats and dogs, a total little devil.
But he was only helpless and obedient around her, taking a lot
of blame for her since childhood.
His performance, though, completely changed Graciela’s
perception of him.
He played a killer who was cold–blooded and ruthless on the
outside but still had a trace of warmth in his heart.
He showed both cold terrors when killing and a gentle smile
when helping a little girl with her coat. These two totally different emotions were perfectly captured by him.
After watching, Graciela was immersed in the story for a long time and immediately wrote a sincere passage to praise Morton.
The other performance that left a deep impression was by the international actress, Betty.
The title of the international actress was well–earned. Among fair–skinned, blonde–haired women, she stood out with her reserved, charming, elegant, coquettish, dignified, and delicate beauty.
Every scene made people lose themselves in her presence.
Graciela was deeply impressed and immediately declared
herself a fan of Betty, starting to research her idol.
She read all of Betty’s interview records.
Only then did she learn that Betty wasn’t a professional actress.
It was a chance encounter in college that got her discovered by a
talent scout and launched her into the world of acting.
Her family was humble, from a remote small town. At the age of 10, an earthquake took all her family.
The government helped with rescue and aid, and kind–hearted people sponsored her education from elementary school to college.
By chance, she learned her sponsor loved art.
To repay her sponsor, she gave up her studies and entered showbiz.
After many ups and downs, she finally made her own way.
But she never revealed who her sponsor was.
Since she became famous, her past had been well–protected. Outsiders couldn’t find any trace of it.
She had never forgotten her roots, regularly sponsoring her hometown and educational projects and often attending charity
events.
The only thing her fans regretted was that after all these years, Betty was still single. She was once photographed with a mysterious man, but nothing came of it.
