Chapter 67
67
Shannon advises me to stay off socials. Viewing is okay, but posting? Bad, bad, bad idea.
“People are sitting on the lines,” she said. “They know you took your twin’s identity, but the chaos of the case and the NBC interview is taking that weight off you. If you speak out, the attention will shift and the fallout will be unpredictable. I beg of you, for your sanity and mine, stay off social media.” Blah, blah, blah.
Shannon is an amazing lawyer. Fantastic. But what does she know about social media? She was too busy sticking her nose in law school textbooks instead of doom-scrolling like the rest of us.
Everything is different now.
For a brief moment, I was caught in a limbo where I didn’t have access to the outside world. I rejected my phone, my only source of influence, for fear of humiliation and hatred. But I can see it with my own eyes. The cascading outpour of support for me.
Me.
Someone accused of burning and killing seven people—seven gloriously beautiful, powerful, loved white women. Ana, Kelly, Sophia, Emmeline, Lily, Maya, and Bella Marie. Seven deaths at my hands. Eight, if you include Chloe. And yet, the world doesn’t revile me or condemn me. Instead, I am an object of obsession . They salivate for more, hungry .
The love is uncanny. Almost, dare I say, impossible.
The longer I sit with it, the more obvious it becomes.
Tell me, what other explanation is there?
This is my prize in exchange for seven lives. The promise of freedom, euphoria, it’s been delivered. Yet I can tell that this is only the start.
Eto would never be so stingy. Seven human souls for a few million followers and a boost in views? Yeah right. Nikolai received a whole dynasty in exchange for one measly blue eye.
I know there’s more coming. I need more. I deserve it. But I can’t just sit on the sidelines and wait for it to come, not when my time is growing increasingly precious, my court date looming. Now is my time to reach toward the skies and grab hold.
I decide to quadruple-stream on Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok live. (Gifts enabled, of course.) Within five minutes, I have over 100,000 viewers across all platforms. I’m trending worldwide. Everyone is waiting for my tell-all. In ten minutes, 200,000 viewers. Then, 600,000. The numbers don’t stop growing. Gifts are piling in. Comments are going so fast, I can’t read them. I’m blitzed with the same light I had the night of the fire. A wonderous, holy, and powerful excitement, dopamine and adrenaline straight to my bloodstream.
This is it. Today, I will step into the light. Not as Chloe Van Huusen, but as Julie Chan.
It is time to make my mark. I am finally in control.
I stare into the camera on my phone.
“One thing needs to be made clear,” I say. “I did not kill my twin sister.”