Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 56: Reverse Cancelled

The screen went black for two seconds. Then it flickered alive with an old feed. They were no logos and no music. It was just a distorted voice over a recorder. The voice was clear.

“I worked under Karma Del Rey,” the voice declared in a low tone. If listened closely, one would see how it was laced with tremor. “She’s not a victim. She’s the abuser.”

Jaylen sat forward in the studio chair. His hand clenched around the armrest. Across from him was Marcus Redd and Toni leaned in. His eyes was wide. Zee’s holographic avatar pulsed in the center of the table with lines of code unraveling before them.

The whistleblower stream was live.

On phones, laptops, billboards hacked by Zee’s broadcast mode, and even in underground clubs, the confession began spilling across the industry. Screens buzzed with overlays of text and receipts. Each one of them was authenticated by Zee’s relentless digital forensics.

“She forced assistants to work sixteen-hour days with no pay,” the voice continued. “If anyone complained, she blacklisted them. She bullied dancers until they broke down crying. And she didn’t just manipulate fans, she paid them. She also paid armies of trolls to attack rivals online. I know because I was the one ordered to send the payments.”

On the stream, files popped open one by one with transaction logs, emails, blurred-out names but clear enough to show Zenith shell company accounts funneling money directly to Karma’s staff. Zee’s voice narrated in crisp digital tone,

“Verification complete. Seventy-three separate transfers. All tied to Zenith affiliates. All hidden under coded labels ‘promotion budget,’ ‘stage prep,’ and ‘image management.’”

Hashtags began to fracture online. #JaylenExposed wobbled. #KarmaExposed rose like a rocket. #PaidVictims trended with over a million mentions in minutes.

At the Zenith press floor, cameras cut to Karma Del Rey. She had been mid-interview when the confession hit. Someone shoved a phone in her face. The headlines blazed across her eyes. Her mascara streaked as she stumbled, but then she snapped into performance mode. Her voice quivered for the cameras.

“This is… this is lies!” she cried. “This is Jaylen’s doing. His people and his hackers are at work. He will do anything to destroy me!”

The feed split into two. The whistleblower stream on one half and Karma’s dramatic denial on the other. The clash turned into something more pronounced… A digital war.

Within an hour, Karma struck back with her counter-narrative. A new livestream launched from Zenith’s controlled stage. Four young women sat beside her, sobbing on cue. Each of them told the same story, “Jaylen manipulated me, promised stardom, and then discarded me.”

Jaylen watched it all and his jaw tightened. His blood boiled, but he didn’t move. He had learned the trap and he looked guilty. But If he stayed still, the system weighed evidence.

But then, cracks appeared.

One of the victim slipped mid-sentence while she choked out between tears “and Vale promised me… I mean, Jaylen promised me fifty thousand…”

She froze, horrified and then corrected herself. But it was too late. The livestream chat already exploded.

“Wait, did she just say Vale?”

“She’s reading a script!”

Zee’s avatar flared. “Analyzing… Facial recognition confirms identity. Cross-reference: registered as background actress at Eastside Casting Agency. Payment records… uploading now.”

The receipts flashed online seconds later. It was proof that the so-called victims were hired actors.

The façade cracked live on camera. And that wasn't so good for Karma. She had it all planned out but the ground is turning.

FameArena’s Trust Index updated in real time across the system dashboard,

“Jaylen Cruz: Trust +28%

Karma Del Rey: Trust -42%”

Notifications dinged across Jaylen’s HUD. Sponsors had started restoring contracts. Fan momentum was already shifting to his side. National sympathy was rising too.

Outside Zenith HQ, the protests turned violent. The same people who had marched with #JaylenExposed signs now ripped them up and chanted,

“DOWN WITH ZENITH!”

“CORRUPT LABELS OUT!”

The glass shattered. Smoke bombs filled the plaza. Police tried to control the surge as livestreams painted the trouble across the globe.

Madrix Noir’s scandal hadn’t cooled yet. With Karma’s implosion stacked on top, the narrative became undeniable. Zenith wasn’t a label, it was a dome of corruption.

It should have ended there but Zee had one last play.

From the corner of the studio, the AI’s voice chimed, “Intercepted feed. Karma Del Rey, private dressing room. Hot mic active.”

Jaylen’s head snapped up. “Patch it in.”

The studio screen lit with hidden camera videos. Karma was pacing and clutching her hair. “I don’t care if I ruin him,” she spat into her phone. “Vale promised me headlining contracts if I bury Jaylen. That’s all that matters. He’s disposable. Everyone’s disposable.”

The clip was broadcast within sixty seconds. It hit like a nuclear bomb.

Within minutes, her sponsorships collapsed. Brand logos vanished from her profiles in real time. Her follower count nosedived by hundreds of thousands. Industry insiders disowned her on record.

The untouchable Karma Del Rey now stood totally bruised.

Jaylen didn’t celebrate. He sat still, watching how it all unfolded. His silence was louder than any denial could ever be.

For the first time, the public saw him not as an upstart troublemaker. He was a fighter who refused to bow, no matter what corruption threw at him.

Just as he carefully stared, the system chimed in his ear, “Sub-Quest Complete: Reverse Cancelled

Rewards: +10 Fame, +5 Talent

New Trait Unlocked: UNTARNISHED – Reputation damage reduced by 50%.”

Jaylen exhaled with his shoulders finally lowering. The tide had turned. FameArena glowed in green light. That was his trust score glowing.

Marcus let out a whistle. “Brother… they tried to bury you, and now they’re the ones choking in the dirt.”

Toni smirked through tears. “You didn’t just win. You flipped the whole damn game.”

But Zee’s avatar pulsed darker with a warning signal.

“Do not celebrate yet,” it said in a flat voice. “Victory has consequences. Karma’s destruction destabilizes Zenith. Vale will not allow this insult unanswered.”

Hours later, Roman Vale himself appeared on national TV. He wasn’t shaken. He wasn’t panicking either. He was calm in his silver suit gleaming under studio lights.

He smiled directly into the camera.

“The boy thinks he’s winning battles,” Vale said softly. “But he doesn’t see what is coming.”

Jaylen stared at the screen. His fists started curling again.

And in his ear, Zee’s final alert thundered like a battle horn, “Warning: Zenith Escalation Detected. New Boss Opponent Incoming.”