Master of his heart (Max and Brielle)

Chase's lips curled into a smirk, adding some distance between them. "Look, Alivia, I follow the gossip too. Your beef with Brielle over that guy? Tough break. Now you want me to be your hero? That's a bit much. Or are things really that bad for you?" Alivia's face went rigid, her hands clenching so hard her knuckles turned white. Chase had a knack for getting under her skin.

"The Barnes family's cut you off, your brother's MIA, your mom's gone, and who knows who your dad is. You call Brielle an orphan, but aren't you in the same boat?"

Alivia shook with anger, her breathing growing rapid. She was a Dorsey, damn it! Her fists tightened. She had one last option - to reveal her true identity to the Dorsey family.

But that was a risky move. If she admitted she was the Dorsey's daughter, Max's legitimacy would be questioned. Martha had given birth to a girl and handed her to a friend to raise. This would raise eyebrows. Was Max really her son or from elsewhere? Knowing Martha had always tried to pair her with Max, it was clear there was no blood relation. A storm was brewing. But Alivia was done holding back.

If she was going down, she'd take everyone with her. She decided to go straight to Michael and spill the beans. Rising from her seat, she ignored Chase, slapped on a mask, and bolted.

Chase shrugged as Keiran walked up, laden with shopping bags. "Chase, a friend of yours?"

"Just some joker trying to hustle me," Chase replied coolly. Noticing people taking photos, he frowned and quickly pulled a cap over Keiran's head.

A short distance away, Alivia pulled out her phone and called Victoria. She was a Dorsey, and Brielle was nothing. She didn't care about the fallout of exposing this secret or what Max would go through. This was the price for him not choosing her.

Blinded by anger, she forgot Martha's warning to stay by Max's side for protection. Restless, she remembered her substantial Twitter following and, with her brother's sudden retreat from the spotlight, she let out a cold laugh and posted a message on social media.

-My brother's retreat isn't because of some woman casting a wide net, sleeping around for roles, then ghosting. You really went there, didn't you?

She tagged Brielle in the post. The accusation was low, but Kenzo's fame in the industry gave it weight. Once posted, the internet exploded.

It all made sense. Brielle had barely become CEO when she got Kenzo's script, at a time when Stellar Stage Entertainment was under fire. How did she pull it off? If not for seducing Kenzo, then what? And with Kenzo's sudden withdrawal, shutting out all contact - it screamed heartbreak.

Netizens excelled at filling in the blanks. Alivia had just opened Pandora's box, and they painted Brielle as the villain. Kenzo had been scandal-free until then, while Brielle, a newcomer, was repeatedly making headlines - exactly the type to stir up trouble. And she was stunning, which, in their eyes, made her seduction ploy all the more plausible.

The internet went wild. Kenzo was a talented gold-standard writer! "If Kenzo really left because of Brielle, she doesn't deserve to live." "Every one of his works won awards. Such talent, ruined by a jezebel." "How does Brielle keep finding trouble? She's topped the trending searches too many times, always slipping away unscathed. She must've hooked someone bigger than Kenzo." "Alivia and Kenzo's origins may be unclear, but they've always been close. Alivia must've been outraged to speak up."

Alivia, seeing her post take off, smirked and started anonymously slandering Brielle.