Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 24: Enter Lana Syxx (Intro)

The first thing Jaylen saw when he opened his phone that morning wasn’t his usual flood of fan comments or Z-Stream notifications. It was Lana Syxx’s tear-streaked face filling the screen.

“...and I didn’t want to say this,” she sobbed into her phone camera with her voice trembling, “but years ago, in a club in L.A., Jaylen put his hands on me. He laughed when I told him to stop. I’ve been holding it in, but no woman should stay silent anymore.”

The video was perfectly lit, perfectly framed and perfectly timed to drop just as Jaylen’s streaming numbers of streams were peaking from the Rap Arena victory.

Within an hour, the clip had racked up 2.8 million views, with hashtags like #JaylenExposed and #BelieveLana trending across every platform.

Jaylen’s phone blew up with texts. Some were from friends telling him to stay calm. Others from industry contacts telling him to “lay low until it blows over.”

Zee Fray stormed into his loft like a Category 5 hurricane.

“You saw this, right?” she demanded, tossing her tablet onto his kitchen island.

Jaylen didn’t answer, he was already watching the video for the fifth time, every muscle in his jaw locked tight.

“She’s lying,” Zee continued, pacing like an aggressive wolf. “You’ve never even been in L.A. with her.”

“Once,” Jaylen said slowly, his eyes narrowing. “But it was a label party. I was with you the whole time.”

“Exactly. And now she’s acting like you were alone in a dark corner.”

The System’s cold, digitized voice broke through the tension.

“Questline Activated: Silence the Siren.

Objective 1: Disprove Lana Syxx’s claims before public sentiment reaches 50 Reputation.

Objective 2: Identify the source of doctored footage.

Penalty for Failure: −7 Fame, −3 Talent, −5 PR Nodes.”

A holographic meter appeared in Jaylen’s vision, glowing red at −17 Reputation and ticking down in real time as comments poured in.

“They’re eating it up,” Jaylen muttered, scrolling. Every fifth comment was someone calling for him to be blacklisted. “If I don’t shut this down now.”

“Careful,” Zee cut in sharply. “She wants you to react emotionally. That’s the play.”

Jaylen’s thumb froze mid-scroll. “This isn’t redemption. This is a setup.”

Zee gave a grim smile. “Exactly. And we’re going to shred it apart.”

The loft lights dimmed as the System began pulling open a spiderweb of connected posts, live streams, and archived videos. Lana’s accusation clip pulsed at the center.

“Analyzing source…

Result: 63% probability footage was AI-altered.

Identified donor footage: Security cam, Club Lux, 3 years ago.

Real Event: Jaylen removing Lana’s drink after seeing a bartender spike it.”

Jaylen’s hands tightened into fists. “I saved her from getting drugged, and she turns that into this?”

“Next Step Suggested: Public confrontation in controlled environment with irrefutable evidence..” The system replied to him

Zee’s one of the system's agents eyes glinted. “Controlled environment? Like a celebrity roundtable?”

Jaylen looked up sharply. “You’re thinking what I’m thinking?”

They exchanged glances.

Three hours later, Jaylen’s phone buzzed again. This time with a message from a production coordinator at StarPoint Live, a primetime celebrity discussion panel.

We would like to invite you to tonight’s episode to join Lana Syxx, Miles Gage, and others discussing ‘Accountability in the Industry.’

Jaylen read it twice, then smirked in a short, and cold way. “They want me to walk straight into the fire.”

Zee grinned. “Perfect. We’ll bring a flamethrower.”

Before the taping, Lana doubled down with another live stream. She wore a white silk blouse this time. Her hair is done in soft curls with her voice breaking just enough to sound raw.

“I wish I didn’t have to face him tonight,” she said, staring down at her lap. “But I need to speak my truth.”

The comments were flooded with blue-heart emojis and “Stay strong, queen” messages.

The System’s meter dipped to −29 Reputation.

Jaylen sat in the makeup chair at StarPoint’s backstage room, scrolling through her feed without flinching.

“You good?” Zee asked.

“I’m more than good,” he said. “I’m okay.”

The set of StarPoint Live gleamed under overhead lights. A half-moon couch facing the cameras, coffee table was placed at the centre with a moderate flower arrangement. The host, Camilla Trent, gave her a practiced smile as Jaylen was introduced last.

“Joining us now, fresh off his Rap Arena win, is recording artist Jaylen Cruz.”

The applause was mixed with half cheers and half awkward silence. Lana sat three seats away, her eyes shimmering with the kind of wounded innocence that sells headlines.

“Jaylen,” Camilla began, “before we dive into tonight’s topic, is there anything you’d like to say to Lana?”

The camera zoomed in. The world was watching.

Jaylen leaned forward. “Yeah. Roll the footage.”

Without warning, the big screen behind them lit up. It was not with clips approved by the producers, but with System-injected live edits.

Grainy security footage played, showing Lana at the bar three years ago. The bartender slipped a small vial into her drink. Some seconds later, Jaylen appeared in the frame, taking the glass from her hand and dumping it in the sink.

The crowd gasped.

Jaylen’s voice cut in over the audio, “This is the full clip. There are no edits and no music. Just the truth.”

Then side-by-side, the System split the screen, showing Lana’s doctored “club video” with the same time stamps, revealing how her team had spliced his gesture into something sinister.

Camilla’s mouth fell open. “Lana… do you have a response?”

Lana stammered, face paling under the studio lights. “That… that’s not…”

Jaylen didn’t let her finish. “You tried to turn a night I protected you into a thing that could destroy me. You sold out your own safety for clout.”

The studio audience erupted, half cheering, half jeering.

The Reputation meter shot up to +22 and still climbing.

Security escorted Lana out of the building before the segment even ended. By the time Jaylen got back to his dressing room, T*****r was a wild fire, #LanaLied was trending above every other tag.

The system pinged in, “Mini-Quest Progress: Objective 1 – Complete.

Next Step: Identify footage editor.”

Jaylen tossed his mic pack on the table and looked at Zee. “She’s not working alone. Someone gave her that edit.”

Zee’s smile turned razor-sharp. “Then let’s smoke out the snake pit.”

The System’s map of digital footprints flared up on his phone. Somewhere in the mess of glowing nodes, a single pulse of red marked the real enemy.

Jaylen’s phone buzzed again. But this time with a text from an unknown number.

“Do you think this is over? She was just the opening act.”

The Reputation meter froze mid-rise, and a new system notification slid into view.

“New Adversary Unlocked: “The Siren’s Backer.”

Jaylen’s grin was slow and dangerous. “Good. I was starting to get bored.”