When Lillian sat down, some people noticed, but they just assumed she was a newcomer in the industry, and no one connected her to the previous drama with Helen.
At that moment, Helen’s team was scrambling online, trying to turn the situation around.
They released screenshots showing how Helen had kept in close contact with her family for years, transferred money for her mother’s medical care, and provided evidence to refute the rumors about her neglecting her biological mother.
They also sternly warned certain “insiders” who had spread rumors, stating that they would hold them accountable for the damage to Helen’s reputation.
Helen herself went on Twitter and accused some people of using her quiet demeanor to spread baseless rumors.
Her life had always been simple, and there was no truth to the claims that she had neglected her biological mother.
Helen’s fans had been waiting for her to post a clarification, and once she did, they gained confidence. They immediately started countering the negative comments.
The situation quickly turned around.
[I knew it! My idol isn’t like that.]
[Can the haters just give it a rest? Are you hiding under her bed now? Why should she have to report to you how she interacts with her mom?]
[But she didn’t deny she doesn’t return to the country and only maintains the relationship by sending money? If she’s so rich, why didn’t she bring her mom abroad for treatment?]
[The person who leaked this said the best experts are abroad. Doesn’t Helen have enough connections and resources to find good doctors?]
Helen’s fans finally found reassurance, and in the face of public opinion online, they all agreed: focus on her work as an actress, let her handle her personal life, and not interfere with her family matters.
After they had managed to suppress the negative press, the rebellious onlookers began digging deeper.
They managed to find the man from the old photos-young Alvin, who had once been quite handsome. No wonder he could father someone as stunning as Lillian.
Alvin had built his empire from scratch in City N, and he was a well-known figure there.
The hashtag ‘Alvin and Helen’ quickly became a trending topic among netizens.
[Isn’t Alvin’s daughter Lillian? Isn’t Lillian the one who once pushed Helen down the stairs, that gold digger?]
[So what, she’s actually Helen’s biological daughter!?]
[This is clearly a family dispute! If Lillian is really Helen’s daughter, then Helen is terrifying. What kind of life did her daughter have back in the country, while Helen was living carefree abroad? When you compare it, it’s really ironic.]
[So she just let her daughter be insulted by netizens and almost called the police on her?]
This revelation completely stunned Helen’s fans. After all, they had been the ones leading the charge against Lillian previously!
Soon, another hashtag “Helen’s Daughter” skyrocketed to the top of the trending list.
It included details about Helen lying for years to build her persona-a single woman courageously venturing abroad, even abandoning her husband and daughter.
She had completely ignored her sick mother!
The question was directly posed to Helen:
Why wouldn’t she admit her previous marriage?
Why did she refuse to acknowledge she had another daughter?
Why had she pressured her ailing mother, failing to return home when her mother was unconscious, and after her mother woke up, why did she still use her social status to intimidate and pressure her into submission?
Even after her mother passed away from surgery, Helen didn’t attend the funeral. Was it guilt, or was her public image more important than her mother’s death?
Had her award-winning acting been dedicated to the screen, or had it been used to maintain her reputation by silencing online rumors?
These trending topics, paired with Helen’s acting training program, were utterly ironic.
If the rumors were true, what kind of person was Helen?
Her fans were probably starting to rethink everything they had known about their lifelong idol.
Helen slammed her phone onto the floor in frustration. “What’s going on? Didn’t I tell you to control the online narrative!? Why is this information still surfacing!?”
“The public opinion can’t be contained anymore. The media is waiting outside, and some of them are already at the makeup room door.”
“No, no, I can’t go out in this situation! Go out and tell them I’m not feeling well, the event’s canceled for today!”
“No, absolutely not! You tell me, is any of this true? Is today the seventh day after your mom’s death?”
Helen’s lips trembled as she stared at her agent, but she remained silent for a long time.
Tim’s heart sank. “Are you out of your mind? You’ve just handed them this huge piece of leverage! Who do you think the person leaking this information is?”
Helen shook with fear. “How would I know!?”
She had so many rivals. Even if they had retired from the industry, they either married into wealthy families or opened their own film studios.
If they wanted to harm her, it would be easy for them.
“Could it be your daughter?” Tim asked suspiciously.
“No! She cares too much about Alvin to casually expose him like this, putting him in the spotlight for people to gossip about. My mom would never use her for making stories either.”
Tim was speechless. “This isn’t some story, this is the truth! If this is the truth, do you know what you’re facing? A massive scandal! There’s no way to redeem yourself!”
Who would want their idol to be someone who didn’t even attend her own mother’s funeral?
Did she even deserve to be an idol?
It wasn’t just Helen who was panicking-John, sitting in the front row and smugly shaking hands with all the investors, was about to explode.
This training program had been John’s idea.
It was a perfect opportunity to help a few investors avoid taxes, and in turn, he would pocket some profit. This way, he could continue enjoying his lavish lifestyle!
As for the piece of land belonging to that old woman-if he couldn’t get it, so be it.
It seemed like everything with the partners was finally in place, after all the hard work. Money was about to flow into their pockets.
Then, suddenly, this news popped up!
He felt like jumping up onto the stage immediately, demanding that everyone stop spreading rumors and causing chaos!
He would hold them legally accountable!
“Helen! Get Helen out here to explain this!” someone suddenly shouted, and other reporters eagerly tried to get the first-hand details.
The opening of this training program couldn’t compare to the sensational gossip about Helen!
It turned out that Alvin, the bankrupt former tycoon from City N, was actually Helen’s first husband, and they had a daughter together!
Why did Helen get divorced? Why wouldn’t she admit to this marriage? The online gossip was already huge-this was traffic, this was attention.
Bosses were already calling-whoever got the first scoop would get the year-end bonus.
Helen had no time to escape.
At that moment, Peter walked in through the door. “Helen! What’s going on? Why aren’t you out there? It’s chaos out there.”
Sophia also rushed in. “Mommy, what’s going on? These people are blocking me and asking if I knew my grandmother died. How would I know all that?”
Peter was also confused. “Did your mother pass away? Why didn’t we know about this?”
“Enough!” Helen suddenly yelled at them. “I-I don’t know!”
She nervously looked away, and Peter fixed her with a sharp gaze.
“Everyone, get out.” Tim, the agent, spoke up. “Can you two stop arguing? There are so many people waiting outside!”
“You’re the agent, you handle the crisis management! I’m not going out!” Helen was in a complete panic.
Everyone was questioning her, and she had no idea how to explain. She couldn’t make sense of anything!
Tim was speechless. “I’m not handling this. If this is true, you’d better find Lillian and talk to her. Right now, she’s the only one who can help you. That’s the only way to solve this!”