Chapter 9
245words
An anonymous account dropped a bombshell exposé about Susan on Twitter.
Before-and-after plastic surgery photos, showing her transformation from plain Jane to Instagram-perfect.
Videos of her working as a high-end escort, perched on wealthy men's laps with champagne in hand.
Bank statements proving she'd purchased followers and engagement, spending hundreds of thousands on fake metrics.
Side-by-side videos demonstrating how she'd stolen content from smaller creators, sometimes word-for-word.
#SusanExposed trended number one worldwide.
My investigator called with updates.
"All of Susan's brand deals have been terminated. Her agency just dropped her with a public statement."
"Good. Keep monitoring the situation."
"Yes, ma'am."
After hanging up, I checked Twitter.
Susan had gone live.
She appeared bare-faced, eyes puffy and red, remnants of mascara streaking her cheeks.
"I know everyone is disappointed in me..." she sobbed. "I made some mistakes... please, I deserve another chance..."
The comments section was a tsunami of vitriol.
"FAKE!"
"GET LOST!"
"FRAUD!"
"LIAR!"
She broke down completely, and the stream abruptly ended.
I switched to the Walton Media Group's official account.
We'd just posted artwork for an upcoming project with a simple caption:
"Celebrating authentic talent and genuine beauty."
The post garnered millions of likes within hours.
The comments overflowed with support.
"Alice Walton is a QUEEN!"
"A true artist who earned her success!"
"Walton Media stands for integrity!"
I never mentioned Susan by name or even alluded to the scandal.
But everyone knew exactly what I meant.
