Chapter 3
At the entrance, a man in a sharp black suit and gold-rimmed glasses stood waiting for me.
That was Jayden Lester, the ace attorney I hired with every penny I'd scraped together over the last three years.
"Miss Reily, it looks like everything went off without a hitch," he nodded.
I smiled back.
"Mr. Lester, the real drama's just beginning," I replied.
Social media blew up.
Louisa's PR team moved at lightning speed.
Less than thirty minutes later, her studio had already posted a statement on Twitter.
In their version, I was painted as a crazy person who'd supposedly suffered from "delusional disorder" and "antisocial personality disorder" since I was a kid.
All because I was jealous of my younger sister Louisa's success, I'd apparently gone out of my way to fake evidence and orchestrate this whole mess myself.
They even posted a so-called "medical diagnosis" to back up their story.
Right after that, a flood of influencer accounts jumped in, fanning the flames.
[Oh, poor Louisa. She must have the worst luck in the world to have a sister like that.]
[See? I told you. Louisa's gorgeous and has a heart of gold. She'd never do something like that.]
[Matilda just screams trouble. With that fierce look in her eyes, I bet she's just after the money.]
Louisa's hardcore fans, as if they'd finally found a leader, went all out attacking me online with nonstop personal insults.
My phone was blowing up with a tidal wave of abusive texts and curses.
They even doxxed my rental address and scrawled "Bitch" and "Get out of showbiz" in red paint across my front door.
Jimmy gave me one last call.
He said, "Matilda, this is your final chance."
His voice was icy and self-satisfied. "Get on Twitter and apologize right now. Admit you trashed Louisa just to stir up drama. Take the money and get lost, and never show your face again."
"Otherwise, you'll be up against the full fury of the big players. We'll destroy you, and you'll be left with nothing but regret for the rest of your days," he added coldly.
I couldn't help but find his threats ridiculous.
I shot back, "Jimmy, did you forget? I'm already at rock bottom. Why would I be scared of you big shots?
"Go ahead, do your worst. I'll be waiting."
I hung up and blocked his number.
When I opened Twitter, my account was completely overrun.
There were literally millions of comments, which were hate and insults.
I didn't bother with any of it, just switched to another account.
This was a burner account I'd set up a year ago, where I'd been secretly keeping track of everything about being Louisa's double.
I took all the evidence Jayden's team had pulled together overnight and turned it into a ten-minute video.
The video had side-by-side photos of us from childhood, a crystal-clear scan of the acceptance letter they tried to bury, every single page of the double contract, snapshots of the scars I got from those risky stunts, and even my hospital diagnosis records.
But the real bombshell was the last part of the video.
It was my final conversation with Louisa, secretly recorded with a hidden camera.
It was the day before the Golden Globe Awards.
In the video, Louisa was decked out in a stunning gown, giving me that smug, condescending look.
Louisa smirked, "Matilda, I'm about to win an award tomorrow. Aren't you happy for me?
"Honestly, you did most of the work for this award. I should probably give you more than half the credit.
"But does it even matter? I'm the one standing on stage, soaking up all the glory and cheers.
"Face it, Matilda. You'll always be my shadow.
"Do you hate me? Hate that I stole everything you had?"
She leaned in close, grinning at me like a total devil.
She smirked, "That's just how it goes. You never stood a chance against me."
The video froze on her face, all smug and twisted with pride.
I wrote out my post.
[The truth never stays buried.] I mentioned Louisa Studio and the Golden Globe Awards Official Account.
Then I hit send.
After I was done, I switched off my phone, took a long, hot bath, and crashed hard.
I knew that starting the next day, the world was about to turn upside down.
I slept for a solid twelve hours.
When I woke up, the sunlight outside was just perfect.
My phone was flooded with dozens of missed calls and hundreds of messages on WhatsApp and text.
I opened Twitter, and the trending topics had totally flipped.
[Louisa Gets Out of Showbiz.]
[Matilda Reily Debut Now.]
[Golden Globe Awards Scandal]
[Heartbroken for Matilda Reily]
Eight out of the top ten trending topics had my name on them.
My video posted on Twitter had already been shared over ten million times, with hundreds of millions of comments pouring in.
Overnight, public opinion changed completely.
Louisa Studio's pathetic PR statement had turned into the internet's favorite punchline.
Those clout-chasing accounts that trashed me the most were scrambling to delete their posts, apologize, and suddenly hype up my talent and beauty.
Most of Louisa's fans ditched her overnight. The diehards tried to hold the line in the comments, but they got quickly buried by a flood of outraged netizens.
[Holy crap! What a plot twist. I was dragging Matilda yesterday, and now I feel so bad for her.]
[Louisa is a total snake, and Matilda is the beautiful, strong, tragic heroine. This is some god-tier drama.]
[Louisa didn't just steal someone's life. Her acting sucks, and her face is fake. Is there anything real about her at all?]
[Golden Globe Awards, care to explain? You gave the trophy to a fraud. Where's your credibility now?]