One morning, I was awakened by the trending news.
Private photos of me were being circulated across the internet.
And the one who leaked them? My ex-boyfriend, whom I broke up with three years ago.
He had tried to blackmail me with intimate videos he secretly filmed during our relationship, but when that failed, he went ahead and released them to the public.
If I don't send him straight to prison to eat his three-square-meal jail food, I, Elena Vance, will change my name!
I had just wrapped up a night shoot and finally crawled into bed at five in the morning. Less than half an hour later, my agent was banging on my door, waking me up.
I was trending, and for six straight hours, the company spent a fortune trying to suppress it, but they couldn’t stop the fire.
Endorsements were getting canceled left and right. The production team held an emergency meeting to decide whether to halt filming, delete my scenes, and quickly replace me with another actress.
The male lead, protecting his reputation, unfollowed me immediately, deleted all joint promotional material.
My phone was blowing up, and the comments on my Instagram and TikTok were exploding.
Most of them were attacking me, labeling me with every insult under the sun.
They completely forgot that I was the victim here.
Rumor has it, this is the biggest crisis the company has faced since its founding.
The PR team was working around the clock, but the results were minimal.
"This isn't just about that bastard; there’s definitely someone else behind this," Vera, my agent, said, her face pale with anger.
"Sienna Blair!"
Vera and I spoke in unison, both of us thinking of the same person.
Our company's newest rising star, Sienna, had a very similar image to mine.
With me in the lead, Sienna had struggled to break through. No matter how hard she worked to please the bosses, producers, and directors, it all went to waste.
In the entertainment industry, the road to fame isn't just about hard work—it’s about luck.
Clearly, Sienna wasn’t lucky.
But she didn’t believe that. She kept scheming, and now, it seemed like she had finally caught her golden opportunity.
"She seems to be a few screws short. This is causing massive damage to the company," Vera seethed, gritting her teeth.
I let out a deep sigh.
Though looks are crucial in the entertainment world, you can’t survive on just beauty alone. You need brains too.
The "dumb beauty" persona the company set up for me? It should be handed over to her. She’d probably handle it better without causing a scandal.
I was tired of dealing with Sienna’s constant undermining, but for now, the real issue was Damon Cross, that scumbag of an ex.
When dealing with the enemy, you go for the king first—the source of the problem.
I’d leave Sienna alone for now.
Damon Cross was my ex. We dated for three years and have been broken up for three years now. He was a former national athlete, a world champion in his sport, and had already retired when we were together.
With my popularity and resources, I helped him carve out a place for himself in the entertainment industry.
He was my first boyfriend after I entered showbiz, and we went public with our relationship without hesitation.
Though I have the kind of face that could bring kingdoms to ruin, I take relationships very seriously.
When we got together, I had thought it through carefully and sincerely hoped we could go the distance.
We’d been together for three years. Although I kept some things about my family background hidden, we had met each other’s families, bought an apartment, and seriously planned for our future.
In those three years, after getting to know each other more deeply and going through ups and downs, I was ready to open up to him about my true background. But then I found out he had a dangerous gambling habit, and it forced me to break up with him.
I thought we broke up in a way that preserved our dignity—ending things cleanly, ensuring his image and pride were intact.
“Elena, I swear I’ll change. Don’t leave me. I truly love you, and I want to spend my life with you.”
I found out he had been gambling in illegal overseas casinos, surrounded by two stunning European women. Their interactions were far too close for comfort, and the whole thing was a slap in the face.
After three days of agonizing over it, I made the decision to end things.
When I watched him, crying and kneeling before me, I stayed calm.
Three days ago, paparazzi caught him in an underground casino, gambling away fortunes, with two sexy European women by his side. Their behavior was suggestive, and the images and videos were incredibly cringeworthy.
If these leaked, his career would be ruined.
His golden boy image—former athlete, world champion, the perfect boyfriend—would completely collapse.
His endorsements would be terminated, and he’d face massive compensation fees for breach of contract.
This would push him to the brink—bankrupt, disgraced, and drowning in debt.