Chapter 80
Author’s POV
At the same time, Diana Hayes’ situation had completely reversed in just three short hours.
The online tide had turned viciously against her.
During her five years in the entertainment industry, Diana had always thrown her weight around, using her family connections and resources to bully others. This wasn’t the first or second time she’d pulled such stunts, but her previous victims lacked the background to fight back.
Now that she was in trouble, her rivals and those she’d wronged in the past seized the opportunity. While they wouldn’t openly kick her when she was down, they had no problems hiring internet trolls to attack her anonymously.
Suddenly, the internet was flooded with Diana’s past scandals. Everyone except her fans was criticizing her mercilessly.
For five years straight, Diana Hayes had enjoyed nothing but smooth sailing. With her family’s resources backing her, she’d started her career at what would be the peak for most others. This was her first major setback.
Unfortunately for her, she had a habit of obsessively reading comments about herself online. After scrolling through Twitter for half an hour, she broke down crying in rage, nearly destroying her manager’s office in the process.
Her manager tried to calm her down. “Don’t worry too much, this isn’t completely unsalvageable. Diana, please don’t upset yourself p>
Diana had already lost all sense of reason. “Everyone online is attacking me and you’re telling me not to worry? How can I not? I don’t care, Lily, get the PR team to fix this immediately p>
Lily Brooks looked troubled. The executives had already spoken with her. While the Hayes family had considerable influence, they still had to yield before the Carter family.
The person Diana had antagonized wasn’t just anyone—it was Aiden Carter’s wife. They wouldn’t dare let this situation escalate further.
“Diana, if we keep fighting this, it could seriously impact your album release next month. Let’s wait for things to calm down, then find another opportunity to address it later, okay p>
Diana exploded at these words: “Absolutely not! I’m the one who got kicked, Aria is the one who’s wrong, so why am I the one getting attacked? Are you saying you can’t handle this? If you can’t, I’ll have my brother deal with it p>
Lily’s expression changed slightly. Having been Diana’s manager for five years, she understood the young star’s temperament perfectly.
When Diana was in a good mood, it was all “Lily this” and “Lily that,” but when her mood soured, she’d turn on anyone.
Lily was genuinely trying to help her, yet Diana now questioned her competence.
Feeling hurt, Lily’s expression darkened momentarily before she composed herself. “Diana, you know I’m just a manager. I can’t go against the company’s decisions. If you really can’t let this go, your only option is to ask your brother for help p>
Diana was too angry to detect the nuances in Lily’s tone. She just felt impatient. “Save your useless talk. I’ll call my brother p>
She waved dismissively, not wanting to hear anything more from her manager.
Diana grabbed her phone and called her brother, James Hayes, immediately.
As soon as he answered, Diana burst into tears. “Brother! Someone’s bullying me, boo-hoo p>
Usually when she cried like this, James would move heaven and earth to comfort her.
However, this time, Diana didn’t hear James’s usual soothing words. “Diana, I was just about to call you. About that online situation-you need to issue an apology right away, then have your manager suppress the news. In a few days, you and I will personally apologize to Mrs. Carter p>
Diana thought she’d misheard. “Brother, what are you saying p>
“Diana, stop being childish. Do you know who Aiden Carter is? By offending him, you’ve essentially planted a time bomb for our family’s business interests. Do you understand that p>
James’s voice was uncharacteristically stern through the phone.
Diana was stunned. “Brother, even you won’t help me p>
“Diana, I can help you with anything else, but this time, you need to understand the severity. Aiden Carter is the kind of man who “
“You’re bullying me! Everyone’s bullying me! I’m calling Dad p>
Seeing that Diana wouldn’t listen to reason, James’s voice turned cold. “Even if you
call Grandfather, you’ll still have to apologize to Mrs. Carter p>
“You… you’re not my brother! You’re bullying me too p>
Diana completely broke down. After screaming, she hung up and immediately smashed her phone on the floor.
The phone landed right by Lily’s feet-just inches away from hitting her.
Being five or six years older than Diana, Lily closed her eyes briefly, restraining herself. She bent down to pick up the phone and placed it on the table. “Calm down, Diana. This situation is different from previous ones. We have time, we can gradually p>
“Gradually what? Who wants to wait?” Diana grabbed the phone from the table and hurled it directly at Lily.
The phone struck Lily in the head. She covered her forehead with her hand, and despite her normally patient demeanor, she couldn’t help cursing, “Are you insane p>
Diana, now in a full rage, lashed back: “You’re incompetent, and now I can’t even criticize you p>
Hearing this, Lily’s expression turned cold. “Since you think I’m incompetent, handle this yourself p>
After five years of catering to Diana’s every whim, Lily had had enough. At this point, she almost hoped Diana’s career would crash and burn so she wouldn’t have to deal with her tantrums anymore.
With that, Lily turned and walked away.
Diana couldn’t believe her manager was actually abandoning her. She stared in disbelief at Lily’s retreating figure. “Lily, I swear I’ll replace you immediately p>
1.n
Lily had just reached the door when she heard Diana’s threat. She found it amusing. “My abilities are limited, Miss Hayes. With your family’s. wealth and connections, I’m sure Mr. Hayes can find you a much more capable manager Since you think so ttle of me, go ahead and tell MP Eric to replace me p>
She was truly at her limit!
Lily opened the door and walked out without looking back.
“You p>
Diana was just acting out of anger. Seeing Lily actually leave, she felt a momentary
panic, but it quickly passed. Diana didn’t truly value Lily anyway.
Good riddance!
She wasn’t irreplaceable!
With no help from her brother James and nearly twenty thousand negative comments piling up on her Twitter account, Diana couldn’t take it anymore. She impulsively posted:
“Miss Jones certainly has impressive power, able to control everything with a single hand. I’ve learned my lesson. I can’t fight back. I was wrong p>
Diana’s passive-aggressive post backfired spectacularly. She had hoped playing the victim would garner sympathy, but it had the opposite effect. Even some of Ker
most loyal fans couldn’t help but
admit this was going too far.
After this incident, even if Diana didn’t fade into obscurity, her public image had
been irreparably damaged.