Chapter 61

"Holy crap, something's not right about this box."

"Wait, is that blood on the edge? That color doesn't look right at all."

"No freaking way! You've got to be joking."

With thousands watching in tense silence, Alexia dragged the utility knife across the tape. The sharp blade screeched against the cardboard, cutting through the silence like a scream. Before the box even opened,a sickening wave of rot and decay hit them all.⑪

Her face twisted in disgust as she quickly covered her nose.

A few seconds later, four dead rats spilled out, their bodies slashed and bound together in a grotesque mess.

Pinned crudely to their shredded bodies was a note, scrawled in all caps.

"FRAUDS DESERVE TO BE CUT TO PIECES."

The livestream chat blew up immediately. Warning symbols popped up nonstop as viewers jumped past the three-million mark.

"Oh God, I feel like I'm gonna throw up."

"This is beyond messed up. Marilee's fans have gone completely unhinged! Online drama is one thing, but now it's spilling into real life?"

"The blood is fresh. I can't stop gagging. Poor Alexia. She's dealing with that in person."

"This is criminal! Someone better get the police involved right now!"

With gloves and a mask on, Alexia forced herself through the nausea and closed the box again.

"I need a few minutes to clean up and sanitize everything. I'll be back soon."

As soon as she stepped away from the livestream, the internet exploded. Fan wars lit up every social platform.

#MarleeJenkinsFansCrossTheLine

#MarleeJenkinsMustTakeResponsibility

#FakeDaughterOrFamilyScapegoat

#JusticeForAlexia

Legal experts quickly stepped in, emphasizing that harassment, whether online or in real life, was a serious offense with real legal consequences. Social media lit up with not-so-subtle jabs, aimed straight at a certain celebrity. A lot of users demanded she step up and take responsibility instead of letting her fans run wild and attack innocent people.

Meanwhile, the financial documents Alexia shared lit a fire under the internet. People didn't hold back,slamming the Jenkins family for their obvious favoritism-pampering the sons while treating their only daughter like she didn't exist. The injustice hit home for many, sparking outrage and triggering a massive wave of public criticism.

Tons of people in the chat started calling themselves Alexia fans and went after Marilee's supporters.

"It's wild they're calling Alexia a fraud. She was four when the Jenkins family found her. Didn't bother with a DNA test? That's their mistake, not hers."①

"This is nuts. You're saying the hospital faked the DNA results? Great-show us proof. Name the hospital,show the lawsuit, court ruling,anything. No receipts? Then zip it."

"No court ruling, no facts-just ganging up on a private citizen. If Marilee's upset, maybe she should look at the parents who lost her in the first place. They lost their daughter, raised the wrong one, spoiled the sons,and tossed the fake daughter aside like she was nothing. That kind of neglect seems to be a family trait. No wonder their so-called genius daughter couldn't even handle simple math on national television."

"Marilee's fans are still blaming bad editing for that scene. But she admitted she's terrible at math and science. She only got into college with an art exemption. As an art major myself? I'm honestly insulted."

"And they have the nerve to come after Alexia? She's got brains and looks. Your favorite actress doesn't even come close."

Deborah Sullivan, Marilee's agent, was in total meltdown, watching in horror as the online conversation flipped on its head overnight.

Marilee furiously scrolled through the trending posts and snapped, "Why aren't those threads taken down yet? They're ruining my reputation! Is my fan club full of idiots or what? Totally useless!"

Deborah was sweating bullets. "I've already contacted the platform, but they said the takedown requests were blocked by someone higher-up."

Marilee stared in disbelief. "The platform? They'll do anything for cash-just pay them! We're VIPs. Why would they turn us down?"

"The order came from way above. No removals for three days. No exceptions." And for someone who'd been in the industry this long, even Deborah had never seen a shutdown that firm.

Marilee's cheeks turned red with rage. "So I'm just supposed to take the fall? Let Alexia ride the sympathy train? And what about that actress trying to snatch my movie role? She'll milk this for all it's worth. Fix it.Now!"

Despite her fame, Marilee had racked up a long list of enemies. Her sneaky moves had burned one too many bridges. And she knew this scandal was the perfect opportunity for them to come after her.

Deborah forced a strained smile and said, "No need to panic. We are already shifting the blame onto your fans. Let them take the heat. This is Alexia's fault anyway-her livestream flipped the whole script. We didn't expect her to fight back like this."

The moment Alexia went live, right when the hate hit its peak? That was bold, and Deborah now realized just how badly she'd underestimated Alexia.