Chapter 4: The Necklace Scandal Backfires
Fake?
I was totally lost. My mind spun, trying to remember where the necklace came from. Had I missed something?
The crew clearly wanted the drama, waiting for me to apologize. The air was thick with anticipation, everyone waiting for my next move.
So, right in front of the camera, I pulled out my phone and messaged a pinned contact on Instagram. My hands shook a little, but I kept my face calm. No way was I letting them see me sweat.
Five minutes later, Jenna posted in English on her official page:
“Emmy Dean is my student. I gave her a custom piece as a symbol of our mentorship!”
Instagram blew up. My notifications were a waterfall of likes and DMs.
#EmmyDeanJennaStudent
#EmmyDeanRoyalCollegeofArt
#RollingSiblingsOrdinaryLooks
Bella’s face went from red to green. She looked like she’d just swallowed a lemon. Even the camera caught the way her jaw clenched.
I calmly closed Instagram, but noticed a new trending tag: #BellaMonroeMansion
She really bought her own trending search?
Curious, I clicked in.
It was a photo of Bella in a ballet dress. But that wasn’t the point.
That couch, that coffee table, and the My Little Pony graffiti on the wall behind her…
My heart skipped a beat. That was my family’s empty house. The one we’d left behind—but never really let go of.
On Instagram, the tag with Bella’s name shot up, quickly overtaking all my tags.
#BellaMonroeMansion
#BellaMonroeDivineFace
#ParkAvePrincessBella
In minutes, she took the top three trending spots, and the comments were all paid shills.
*“Oh my god, our Bella really is a princess!”*
*“Is this what class looks like? So jealous.”*
*“I’m a fan of Bella’s face—she’s gorgeous!”*
*“Bella is definitely the face of ‘Rolling! Siblings’!”*
Some sharp-eyed viewers in the chat started to snark:
*“Bella’s shills are way too obvious…”*
*“How much per post? If you’ve got cash, let’s all cash in together!”*
*“Emmy and Hannah are both prettier than her. How do her shills have the nerve to say she outshines them?”*
*“Thanks for the invite, my toes are curling with secondhand embarrassment for Bella.”*
Clearly, the chat wasn’t going the way Bella wanted. Not only did her hype flop, but she also attracted a wave of haters. The digital tide turned fast.
So she tried to save face on camera.
“The filming location isn’t far from my family’s place. When we wrap, I’ll invite everyone over for dinner, and you can try my cooking.”
Alex immediately jumped in, nodding like a bobblehead:
“No problem! I’m sure everyone’s looking forward to Bella’s cooking.”
Miles: …
Hannah: …
My brother frowned like someone owed him a million bucks. He didn’t say a word. His eyebrows were practically touching.
I saw Alex shoot my brother a sly look. The rivalry was alive and well, and I just knew he was up to something—probably planning another round of bad PR against my brother.
No way was I letting Alex get the last word. So I jumped in before he could speak:
“Sure, we were just thinking about visiting Bella’s mansion too, right, Carter?”
I secretly pinched Carter’s side, just hard enough to make him yelp inside.
He grinned through the pain and nodded.