Twisted Ties of Love

"Are you guys thinking that as long as your parents are around, you don't have to face the consequences of your actions, and you can just break the law because you're underage?" Izabella smiled at the girls standing in a row.

Being a fan of a celebrity wasn't bad; if they can learn the good stuff from them, they'd become a better person. However, if they were doing immoral stuff or making mistakes without remorse just because they were a fan, that's messed up.

To Izabella, the way these girls were idolizing the stars was just a waste of time. They could've used their energy to read more books and broaden their horizons.

They can't choose their family, but knowledge can give them more options for their future.

"Exactly. Most of Kristin's fans are just like us; we're underage and protected by the law. What can you do for us? Even if you send us to the police station today, we'll still be hanging around your hotel and waiting outside the set when we get out. Better watch your face. Wonder if you'll still be flirting around when you're disfigured and messing up Kristin's life?"

The police were speechless. This wasn't fandom; this was brainwashing.

One of them raised his nightstick and shouted, "You think you're exempt from punishment just because you're underage? I'll send you to the juvenile detention center, and once you're 18, you're going to prison You don't even comprehend the law, and you dare to spout nonsense. How did your parents raise you? Absolutely no manners!"

The girls felt a bit scared but were still defiant. They didn't dare to say much, but their glares at Izabella were full of ill intentions.

Izabella ignored them. Their actions seemed tough but were really quite harmless.

Leaning back in her chair, she picked up a glass of iced water and took a sip.

"I've been thinking that there isn't much I can do with a well-organized and disciplined group like yours."

The lead girl laughed and said, "You're getting scared now, huh?"

"Hold your horses; I'm not finished." Izabella cut her off. "I often hear your fans saying, 'The idol pays for what the fans do.' I didn't quite agree with that, but now I think it's fitting for you guys. If you don't want to let me off easy, then neither will your idol."

"What do you want, Izabella? Let me tell you, Kristin's about to sue the Blood Ties production team. They can't even film now. You can kiss your money goodbye. The company is still depending on Kristin to make money. Do you think they would piss off and abandon her for a nobody like you?"

"You just reminded me of something," Izabella said. "Soon she won't be able to make money for the company."

The girls were confused. "You think you can replace Kristin?"

The sound of a car parking outside made them think their parents were coming to bail them out. Instead, a stranger walked in. He was wearing a suit and glasses, carrying a briefcase. As he stepped in, he locked his eyes on Izabella.

"Ms. Salotti."

The girls were confused. When did Izabella become Ms. Salotti? Who was this man?

"Mr. Dixon, I'll leave them to you."

"Don't worry."

When the girls' parents arrived, Mr. Dixon professionally handed them the court summons. They were being sued for defamation, attempted murder, and threats.

The evidence was there, and there were recordings. They couldn't escape these charges.

The parents were shocked. They knew their daughters had done something wrong, but they hadn't expected it to be so severe!

An attempted murder sent chills down their spines.

The girls looked at each other, their faces pale with fear. They'd brought box cutters and waited outside the hotel to teach Izabella a lesson; they hadn't planned on killing her. Where did the charge of "attempted murder" come from?

The parents approached Izabella and said, "Ms. Salotti, they're just kids. They can't handle these charges! Please don't hold it against them!"

Izabella just smiled and said, "Not only are they kids, they're orphans. It's sad that they have no parents to teach them."

The parents were angry but held their tongues; some of them even lowered their heads in shame for failing to educate their children.

"We'll discipline them, Ms. Salotti. Please forgive them. They're not bad people; they're just brainwashed by their idol."

Izabella nodded. "Yes, a group of girls threatening people with box cutters are good at heart. They're just naive, uneducated, uncivilized, ill-mannered, and stupid."

"Ms. Salotti, you're a public figure. Is it right for you to say such things? Suing these girls will just cause public outrage."

Izabella stood up, dusted off the non-existent dust on her shoulder, and said leisurely, "You're the ones who did wrong, not me. Why should I be afraid? If I dare to have my lawyer deliver you guys summons, I dare to send your children to court. If you can't educate them, the law will. Better start disciplining them while they're still young. You probably won't be able to do it personally in the future."

The parents had mixed reactions; some were scared, some were angry, and they immediately started scolding and hitting their daughters. The place was chaotic with cries, pleas, shouting, and slapping sounds.

Izabella stepped back to a safe distance and watched with indifference as the police stepped in.

"You little brats, kneel down and apologize. Do you want to go to the juvenile detention center?"

"Apologize to Ms. Salotti now. Admit your mistakes."

The girls sobbed, "We're sorry, Izabella. We were wrong."

These girls were immature and not kind-hearted. They said they were wrong and scared now, but Izabella was sure that if she forgave them, they'd do it again.

Cut the weed at its root to prevent it from growing again.

"It's too late." In the entertainment industry, celebrities might try to downplay the seriousness of such incidents to protect their image.

But the truth was, those who kept quiet were just afraid of offending people because they didn't have strong backing. But Izabella wasn't afraid; she relied on herself.

She's got a bunch of evidence in her hands, more than enough to give these "little girls" a taste of their own medicine. A criminal record before adulthood was a stain that stuck on their resume for life. Izabella turned around and headed for the door, ignoring the begging behind her. As she got to the door, she suddenly thought of something and said to the girls who were trying to stand up for Kristin, "Remember everything you did today. Kristin is going down because of you."

Something she learned from Brett was how to inflict real damage: destroy what the other person valued most.

Instead of silencing someone, it's better to reveal and condemn their motives and thoughts. Guilt will be the first kind of torment they taste in the coming days, with even more to follow.

These girls barely had time to go online, getting a whooping from their parents. There's no peace in any of their houses.

The paparazzi caught all this and posted it online. It was all facts; there was no smear campaigns, and netizens were free to comment.

The term "Kristin's fans attempted

murder" trended; fans organized to kick them out of the fan club, but it was useless. Because those

underage girls also had Twitter netNôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

accounts and were die-hard fans, who had organized and participated in many activities. They can't just kick out these kinds of fans with a single sentence.

The reviews from netizens had the biggest impact. Because of the behavior of these fans, the reviews for Kristin were all negative.

And the fans of celebrities who had been insulted by Kristin's fans before were all rallying together, listing the wrongdoings of Kristin's fans. For a time, all of Kristin's fans were berated by everyone.

The "cat abuse scandal" hasn't even settled, and yet another incident happened. Kristin's fanbase was rapidly dwindling.

The company got a new boss; no one was responsible for her. If anything happened, she had to deat with it herself. Recently, she had to hire her own PR. One time was fine, but if she had to keep hiring RR, she wouldn't have enough money. And if it trended, the PR wouldn't help.

The only thing the fans could rely on was the company. As long as Kristin had someone to rely on, she would be okay, and the fans wouldn't have anything to do.

But this was bound to dash Kristin's hopes.

Izabella safely returned to the hotel and continued to text Casey.

After waiting for a while, Casey called her.

"Did it take you so long to reply because you were eating or something happened?" Casey's sharpness was sometimes even higher than Izabella's.

"I ran into some trouble." As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the breath on the other end of the phone change.

Izabella continued, "I ran into Kristin's fans on my way back to the hotel; I was threatened by several underage girls. Don't worry, I've called the police and hired a lawyer to give them a taste of the real world and teach their parents a lesson in raising kids."

Casey knew she was okay by her tone, and he breathed a sigh of relief. They chatted casually for a bit, and after finding out Izabella hadn't eaten, Casey told her to take care of herself and hung up. Izabella grabbed a quick meal at the hotel, then washed up and went to bed. She needed to recharge; this was just the beginning.

The next morning, Izabella woke up

early and exercised in the hotel. After a set of yoga, she wiped off her sweat. She tied the pendant that Niki used to wear around her cat's neck with a red string and wore it around her own neck. The goldfish-shaped pendant looked just like any other pendant. She wore it all the time, close to her, sometimes even fooling

herself into thinking that Niki was still with her and hadn't died.

Izabella changed her clothes, threw the pendant inside her shirt, and, as usual, arrived at the set half an hour early to prepare, change clothes, put on makeup, and read the script.

Seeing Izabella arrive at the set, the staff was somewhat surprised. With all the recent fuss, they didn't expect Izabella to return to the set to continue filming.

Some wanted to comfort her but didn't know how to start. Late comfort was already outdated, like salt on a wound, making people bleed again.

Some people didn't understand this and walked up to Izabella to offer comfort before leaving.

Most of the staff on set were concerned about Izabella, except for a few actors.

"Now that the lead actress is gone, how can we continue shooting? If Kristin drags on for a day, the set won't make any progress."

"It's all Izabella's fault."

"Don't say that; she's the victim."

"The only victim is a cat; how much does that have to do with her? Now the set has to stop shooting because of a cat. Do you know how much money will be lost? That money could buy so many cats."

"You'd better stop talking, in case she hears you. She's not simple now; two investors even fought over her last time."

"Let her hear; I'm just telling the truth; I'm not afraid of her."

Izabella went to the restroom and heard their conversation when she came back to get her bag.

Normal people would probably pretend they didn't hear it to avoid the awkwardness and wait a while before going in.

But Izabella just pushed the door open and scared the two actors inside. Seeing it was her, they lowered their heads and left in a hurry. Izabella sneered in her heart. With this courage, they didn't even dare to speak in front of her, yet they claimed they were telling the truth. Izabella grabbed her bag and went straight to find Brad. Brad was usually in the shooting area as soon as he arrived, but she didn't see him today.