Chapter 13 Fanning The Flames
Nighttime is when internet platforms are at their most active.
Screenshots of Kendall's comebacks to the haters were widely shared across all social media platforms. Her replies were witty, rhyming, and satisfying, making netizens laugh until they were told about Kendall's character by those who knew the truth, and then they all became furious.
'What kind of world is this? Kendall is a menace and she thinks she's justified?! Who gave her the courage to act like that?'
Netizens started cursing and insulting her in her comment section.
Mia was in her room, on the phone with her manager. With no one else around, she didn't need to wear her mask of gentle innocence.
Mia held up her phone and asked, "What's the public opinion of me online?" As a rising star in the entertainment industry, no one was more sensitive to negative public opinion than Mia.
After she was pulled out of the pool this afternoon, Mia wanted to swallow Kendall whole!
She knew without a doubt that someone must have taken pictures of her being dragged and kicked into the water.
Most of the people at the celebration today were big celebrities.
They acted like friends to each other's faces, but behind their backs, they all wished for each other's downfall.
Mia had her manager, Finn, keep an eye on everything online, telling him to immediately take care of any negative comments about her.
Finn lived up to Mia's expectations. Several times, he found entertainment blogs posting ugly photos of her being kicked into the water by Kendall and immediately contacted them to have the photos deleted.
At the same time, Finn didn't forget to market Mia as a victim, and the perpetrator was, of course, Kendall.
"Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on it. The online comments about you are all positive. Even if someone mentions you being pushed into the water by Kendall this afternoon, they're on your side," Finn said as he sat in front of his computer, staring at the bright screen.
"But there's something I find very strange."
Mia subconsciously asked, "What is it?"
"Before, no matter how much your fans cursed and mocked Kendall on TikTok, she would never say a word. But today... she fought back."
Finn said, as he took screenshots of Kendall's replies to netizens. "I sent them to you. Take a look."
Mia frowned and opened TikTok.
The other comments were fine, but when she saw the reply that Kendall gave to a user named @ILoveMia, which praised her as a refined young lady that the Hansen family cultivated with a lot of effort and money, while calling Kendall a poor relative who was just trying to leech off the Hansen family, and Kendall replied that the user was talking nonsense, Mia's face went pale.
'How could Kendall dare to say something like that?!'
'She had promised her she wouldn't expose this secret to outsiders!'
Mia's fingers trembled, and a great panic spread through her heart. For a moment, Mia even forgot that Finn was the one who sent her the screenshots. It wasn't until she heard Finn's scoffing voice from the phone that Mia's mind came back to reality.
"Kendall is hilarious. She's just a poor relative. Isn't it good enough for her to stay in the Hansen family quietly? Why does she have to cause so much trouble?"
"What did your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hansen, say about what she did this afternoon, pushing all of you into the pool? Did you just easily forgive her? Just by kicking her out of the Hansen family?"
"Even though the pool wasn't deep today, from the way she dragged you from the living room to the poolside and kicked you in, you could sue her at the police station."
"Not to mention, she kicked your whole family in! If you all claimed that you didn't know how to swim, you could easily accuse her of attempted murder."
As Finn spoke, his tone was full of anticipation. If the Hansen family was willing to sue Kendall, he could use this to create a lot of hype, to increase Mia's fame in the entertainment industry.
Mia came to her senses. How could she not understand what Finn was saying? But Kendall was the real daughter of the Hansen family. Even if something had happened after they were kicked into the pool, the Hansen family would rather swallow the humiliation and not expose such a scandal.
However, Mia knew she couldn't say this to Finn because she had never told him that she wasn't the biological daughter of the Hansen family and that Kendall was.
Mia frowned. "Don't even think about it. Kendall has already been kicked out of the Hansen family, and that's the end of it."
"Alright." Finn's eyes flashed with regret. "I don't know what's wrong with Kendall. It seems like she's a completely different person after being in the hospital for a month. Before, she was a punching bag that anyone could bully. Now... she's like an alligator, biting anyone she sees."
This was something Mia found strange, too. The Kendall she had seen this afternoon and tonight felt completely insane, hitting people at the drop of a hat without any regard for their feelings. 'But that's for the best.'
If Kendall continued to be crazy, the Hansen family's dislike for her would deepen. Only then would her position as the Hansen family's young lady become even more secure.
A vicious look flashed in Mia's eyes. She said to her manager on the other end of the phone, "Keep an eye on things. Start spreading the word that we have accurate information that Kendall has been kicked out of the Hansen family overnight."
"Didn't you already have me tell your fans in the group chat?" Finn asked, confused. The moment Kendall left the Hansen family, Mia had messaged Finn about it and had him use a secondary account to spread the news in Mia's fan group.
"That was just a warmup. A lot of people probably didn't believe it." Mia smiled. "Now that Kendall's trending online, it's the perfect opportunity to spread the news that she's been kicked out of the Hansen family. That way, people will know that I'm the real victim."
In a way, Mia was using Kendall's popularity to gain new fans. She wanted to completely and utterly separate the Hansen family from Kendall, leaving no possibility for Kendall to ever return to the Hansen family.
Finn didn't know that Mia wasn't the Hansen family's biological daughter, and his thoughts weren't as deep as Mia's. However, if Mia could use Kendall's popularity to gain more fans, that would be a good thing.
In the past six months, Mia had used Kendall to gain a lot of fans, and Finn was an expert at using Kendall to gain good favour for Mia with the public.
He nodded. "Alright, I understand."
(End of Chapter)