Chapter 4

On the other end, Rick's voice dropped low and rough.

"Daniela, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"You want to break up over something this small?"

I didn't answer. I just hung up.

By the time I'd sat back down at my desk and gotten myself under control, my manager came over.

He looked at me, something complicated in his eyes.

"Daniela, you've been suspended."

My head snapped up.

"Why?"

There was a coaxing note in his voice.

"Dani, I don't want to do this either. Just go apologize to Mr. James."

"It's not a big deal. Why let it turn into such a standoff?"

I laughed.

So this was Rick's warning. His punishment.

I said nothing else and walked straight out of his office.

My phone buzzed. A message from Edgar.

"Dani, that blogger posted again."

I opened it.

In the newest video, Sabina's voice came through, smug and pleased.

"A gold digger ends up with nothing."

"Time to celebrate. Her boyfriend's done being played for a sucker."

"And she got fired from her company too!"

The comment section was one long cheer.

"Serves her right! That's what a gold digger deserves!"

"So satisfying!"

"This is the content we're here for!"

...

My phone buzzed again. A message from a number I didn't know.

"Daniela, if you know what's good for you, you'll walk away from Rick yourself!"

"He didn't go home last night. He was with me the whole time. Did you know that?"

"You're not good enough for him. Keep clinging to him and I'll destroy you completely."

Sabina sent a photo.

In it, Rick lay in bed, bare from the waist up.

Sabina was nestled against him, smiling sweetly.

I clenched my teeth and saved it fast.

The video spread quickly.

When I left the building, plenty of people I passed were already pointing and whispering.

Their eyes held contempt, dismissal, and one of them even spat at me.

I kept my eyes forward and walked out.

Back home, I packed a suitcase, then found a quiet hotel.

I opened my phone and registered an account right away, posted my first video, and tagged Sabina in it.

"Hi, everyone. I'm the gold digger this blogger keeps talking about."

"In ten minutes, I'm going live."

My follower count kept climbing. Comments kept popping up in the background.

Abuse, doubt, accusations that I was just chasing the hype, one after another.

I ignored all of it.

I just carefully screenshotted every piece of evidence.

Rick's call came through, his voice furious.

"Daniela, have you lost your mind?"

"Do you have to blow this up?"

I gave a cold laugh and answered calmly.

"You and Sabina forced my hand."

I hung up. Before going live, I dialed the police.

Once the officers had taken down my statement and secured the evidence, I hit start.

The viewer count kept shooting up. When it settled past a hundred thousand, I spoke, steady and calm.

"Hi, everyone. Now, I'm going to tell you exactly how I got framed as a gold digger."