Chapter 44

During lunch, the production crew arranged for the guest stars to dine in private rooms while the trainees ate in the main hall.

As Aria Bennett stepped out of the car, she spotted Damian Cross approaching from a distance. The sunlight bathed him in a golden glow, making him look almost ethereal.

"Hello, Mr. Cross," she greeted with a bright smile.

Damian walked closer, his expression tinged with concern. "Have you seen what's happening online?"

Aria blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected the usually aloof A-list actor to bring this up.

"Yes, I have," she nodded.

"Do you need help?" His voice was soft but firm.

When Aria gave him a puzzled look, he lowered his voice. "Thank you for saving me that day—and for the talisman."

Realization dawned on her. So he knew.

"It was nothing, Mr. Cross. Don’t worry about it," she waved it off. "I can handle the online situation."

A flicker of admiration crossed Damian’s eyes. He’d always sensed there was more to this girl.

"Let’s exchange contacts," he said, pulling out his phone. "Reach out if you ever need anything."

Aria smiled and scanned his QR code. Just as they finished adding each other, they were spotted by other guests and walked into the restaurant together.

At lunch, Jonah Pierce, Wesley Hart, and others took turns reassuring Aria. They all suspected the online rumors were fabricated.

Only Nolan Reed seemed lost. He never paid attention to trending topics, and seeing the senior artists talking to Aria one after another only confused him.

Once back in the car, he finally asked his assistant, "What’s going on?"

Hesitantly, the assistant handed him a phone. Nolan’s face darkened as he scrolled through the trending hashtags.

"So Grant’s post is basically confirming those rumors?" His voice tightened.

The assistant nodded cautiously. "It seems that way."

Nolan opened the comments section, his heart twisting at the flood of hate directed at Aria.

"I should’ve spoken up last time..." He pressed a hand to his face in frustration. "No wonder she broke up with me."

The assistant sighed. "When we get back to the city, you should talk to her."

After a moment of silence, Nolan suddenly dialed a number. "Dig up everything on Grant Mercer—starting from when he first managed Aria."

Two hours later, they arrived in the city. The trainees returned to the training camp while the guest stars dispersed.

Nolan wanted to explain things to Aria, only to learn she had already gone home.

Meanwhile, Aria sat leisurely in front of her computer. Logging into a hidden account, she compiled her evidence and sent it to a well-known whistleblower blogger, Spotlight Ledger.

An hour later, the influential influencer Derek Snow dropped a bombshell:

[The Truth Behind the "Aria Bennett Betrayal" Scandal]

Accompanied by a nine-image thread of irrefutable proof, each piece exposing Grant Mercer’s lies. Soon after, a renowned screenwriter also voiced support for Aria.

Netizens erupted:

[Holy crap! So all those opportunities were earned by Aria herself!]

[Grant is disgusting—taking credit for company resources]

[Look at these chat logs! He’s been colluding with Serena Blake all along!]

[The worst part? He tried to force her into that BL drama lead—pure sabotage!]

[Confirmed! That smear post was paid for by Grant!]

The hashtag #GrantMercerExposed instantly topped the charts.

Netizens joked: [Now this is a juicy scandal!]