Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 15: Dr. Carver’s Mind Games (Part 1)

A thick silence settled over Jaylen’s apartment for a while.  Suddenly, the persistent ping of his phone broke the silence. Notifications kept flooding in. DMs after DMs, alerts after alerts and hashtags after hashtags.  His name has upsurged in trends again. 

Jaylen scrolled across the headline on the screen of his phone, "Dr. Carver Reveals Mental Breakdown of Rising Star Jaylen Cruz – Is He Too Unstable for Fame?"

Jaylen’s eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched as he tapped the article. The article opened and as he read, embedded in the post was a grainy video of his face mid-session. His eyes were red like he was indeed mentally unstable. His voice shook as he said, “I feel like the world’s against me… like none of this matters.”

The internet had started judging the matter before Jaylen could speak. The internet used words like “delusional,” “dangerous,” and “unfit” again and again in the comment session. 

Some hours later. He switched ON the TV and what he saw was disturbing. TV hosts had started  debating about his mental stability. His online enemies latched onto the exposed vulnerability like piranhas.

And worst of it all was Dr. Carver, the man who once called Jaylen his "most promising turnaround case. He happened to be the one leading the charge.

As Jaylen drowned in disappointment, the System choked in, “System notification!!! Sub-Quest Unlocked!

Title: Use Proof of Breach to Sue for Defamation

Reward: Talent +8 | Z-Credit Bonus | Unlock: Legal Protocol Menu

Objective: Secure breach-of-ethics proof from therapy archives and initiate countersuit.”

Jaylen sat up straight. “System,” he said aloud. His voice was tight with rage, “initiate the Legal Protocol Menu.”

A glowing interface shimmered into view before his eyes. It was faint enough not to be seen by others. It was visible only to him. 

Jaylen navigated to Legal NPCs. An avatar blinked to life. It shows an elegant woman in a navy suit with bright silver eyes.

“NPC Activated: Atria Rowen, the System-Licensed Attorney (Specialty: Civil and Ethical Breach Lawsuits)”

“Jaylen Cruz,” Atria, the system Antony greeted crisply. “Your case file has been flagged with urgency. Would you like to proceed with the defamation response protocol?”

“Damn right I would. That snake of a doctor exposed confidential therapy notes and edited clips to defame me. I want him badly wounded.” He expressed his anger. 

Atria nodded. “First, we’ll need your original session recordings. It will be encrypted and stored by your internal memory trigger. With your permission, I’ll scan your latent memory files.”

Jaylen gave a sharp nod. The moment he agreed, a light wave brightened  his face. It almost blinded him but it was a brief moment.  The system went through Jaylen's most vulnerable conversations. Especially the arguments with Carver. All the Confessions he never planned to say out loud and breakdown moments no one had a right to see.

After a tense minute, Atria’s voice returned. “Extraction complete. You’ll find the original audio files in your Evidence Archive. Compare them against Carver’s broadcast.”

Jaylen didn’t wait.

He opened the side-by-side media comparison. His raw recording showed him expressing pain that had gripped him to the core.  The fake version shows Jaylen's madness. Carver’s video, however, had audio dips, overlapping edits, and repeated sobs exaggerated out of context.

This was total proof of manipulation.

Meanwhile, in the polished studio of the Morning Heat podcast, Dr. Carver sipped from his mug with a perfectly timed sigh.

“I was heartbroken,” he told the host, “watching a young man spiral into paranoia. Do you think fame’s a blessing? No, it’s a slow poison. I tried to help. But Jaylen… he rejected therapy. He ran from his trauma.”

The host, a man known for fake outrage, leaned in. “So, are you saying he’s dangerous?” He asked 

Carver nodded gravely. “Not just to others. Even to himself.”

In the audience, pre-selected by producers, a few gasps sounded on cue.

But before the clip could gain full traction, a different post started spreading like wildfire. It was an anonymous file drop titled, "The Real Tapes – What Dr. Carver Didn’t Want You to Hear.”

Jaylen watched it unfold in real-time. His anonymous system had helped him release the raw tapes via ClariFeed - a secure underground distribution channel. Top influencers got it first, then Reddit and then T*****r.

Side-by-side breakdowns of the videos hit trending faster than expected. Commentators caught the cuts and Audio engineers weighed in on it. 

 “This is fake spliced. This ain’t how therapeutic audio works. Dr. Carver just ended his own career.”

The system buzzed in, “System Update!!! Quest Progress: 40% Complete

Public Exposure Achieved.

Next Phase: Legal Filing in 48 Hours

Talent +3 Awarded.”

…..

Jaylen leaned back, tension uncoiled from his spine. He felt relieved even though he knew it wasn't over. 

His phone buzzed again and this time around, it was from an unregistered number.

He picked it up, expecting another insult. Instead, a nervous male voice crackled through the speaker.

“Is this Jaylen?” The voice broke in.

“Yes, it is. How can I help you?” Jaylen asked. 

“Okay. This is… this is Brent. Your old group therapy classmate. I saw the video Dr Carver leaked.” He expressed 

Jaylen frowned. “Yeah?”

“That dude has been selling patient information for years. He told us our sessions were confidential, but… he used snippets in his books. Look, I saved screenshots of DMs and Session clips. I’ll send them to you now.”

Jaylen’s heart pounded. “Why are doing that now?” He asked, cautious it could be a trap. 

“I thought you were just another fame-hungry poser. But now… now I see what they’re doing to you. This ain’t just about therapy. It’s about taking you down and that's the reason I am here to help.”

……

The next few hours were online battles. Multiple uploads flooded the internet, media counters had followed, and there were also legal pings.

Atria filed an early cease-and-desist notice. It was enough to force Carver’s legal team into a tailspin. News anchors backstepped. Mental health advocacy pages that had initially criticized Jaylen began releasing neutral statements with an outright support.

“We don’t condone unethical behavior especially from those who claim to be mental health professionals.” This was a tweet from MindStrong Alliance on T*****r.

Jaylen sat back, letting it wash over him but his fingers still trembled. He wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable. He was afraid that his truth could be twisted into something he doesn't want again.

The system suddenly buzzed in, “System Alert: Confidential Ally Quest Chain Triggered

NPC Brent activated.

Mini-Quest: Compile Carver's Pattern of Abuse.

Bonus Talent +4 | Future Legal Immunity +1.”

As the sun set and Jaylen’s AI home system dimmed the lights in his room, his tablet vibrated sharply. 

It was a notification of a leaked text thread that was meant for Roman Vale. Jaylen read through the message on the screen since it was sent by Dr Carver.

“He’s too unstable. I’ll deliver the final piece tonight. But make sure my payout’s clean.”

Jaylen’s blood ran cold. ‘They were working together!’ His jaw dropped in realization.

…………

The next morning, a new video begins circulating. It was a clip showing Jaylen walking to the backstage during his last tour rehearsal mumbling to himself and screaming at a wall.

The headlines read, “BREAKDOWN ON TAPE: Jaylen Melts Down Before Show”

Jaylen stares at the screen. “That never happened,” he whispers.

But the clip looks too real. And when Jaylen checked closely, he realized that the video has a watermark dating it back to two years. 

Jaylen's eyes bulged. The problem now was that the venue never existed until six months ago.

“What the hell?”