They Fired Me, I Inherited My Empire

I hid my real identity and worked as a talent at an entertainment company owned by my family's conglomerate. My agent made up fake dirt on me out of thin air, just to help the general manager's mistress climb the career ladder by stepping all over me. I was absolutely livid. I clapped back at that two-faced manipulative b***h right on X, then dragged the company publicly during a press conference. The general manager was so furious he ripped up my contract right then and there. I announced I was quitting the entertainment industry for good. Right after that, the official account of a certain huge conglomerate posted an emotional, practically teary mention of me, begging me to come home and inherit the family's billions in assets. Everyone's jaws hit the floor immediately. One sharp-tongued netizen dropped this razor-sharp take online. A: [Wait a second, so the only heir to the Wallace Group got fired by the entertainment company that falls under the Wallace Group umbrella?] ***** I auditioned for the second female lead in Director White's new drama and landed the role. The very next day, I packed my bags and showed up on set. But the day after that, the General Manager's little mistress parachuted into the crew, and my agent dropped the news on me. "Miss Whitmore will be playing the second female lead. You're getting the female lead role instead." Kyla Whitmore looked at me, bursting with smugness underneath her fake, timid little act. She spoke in a soft, mousy voice. "Darla, please take good care of me from now on." Smack! I slammed my script shut, raked my eyes over her from head to toe, and let out a sharp, mocking scoff. "Make a two-faced schemer pretend to be a pure, noble peony? Does that even make sense? You've got some real nerve." My agent's face twisted awkwardly. No surprise there. This was a palace intrigue drama. The second female lead might not have the top billing, but she had a killer role: bright, bold, unapologetically ruthless, and hopelessly devoted. The female lead, on the other hand, was a fragile, weepy, fake-innocent little pick-me. My agent coughed awkwardly, his eyes glinting with a warning. "Darla, this comes straight from the boss. We're pulling out all the stops to promote Miss Whitmore. Got it?" My face turned ice-cold, and I flung the script straight to the side. "If the company wants to prop someone up, just throw your own resources at her, for crying out loud. You think she's worth leeching off me to get ahead?" The agent's face twisted sour, a faint flicker of guilt crossing his features. "The female lead of this show has already bailed. The company signed a new contract on your behalf. If you refuse to act, you'll be in breach of contract." "Besides, the company went to a lot of trouble to get you this top-billed role as compensation," he added, suddenly puffing out his chest, his tone turning snappy and arrogant. I tsked, a cold laugh bubbling up. The female lead leaves out of the blue one day, and I suddenly get bumped up to her spot? The online rumor mill would be an absolute bloodbath. It would look exactly like I strong-armed her out of the role just to get top billing. "Signing a contract for me without my permission? Is that the kind of garbage professionalism your company has? Using me as a pawn? I don't play your scummy little games." Kyla frowned, putting on a holier-than-thou expression like she couldn't believe how unreasonable I was being. "Darla, I know you're upset I took your role, but you got the female lead spot instead. What more could you possibly want?" I asked, deadpan and earnest, "Then why don't you take the female lead role? Scared you'll get roasted into next week if you do?" Kyla choked, too stunned to get a word out. She shot the agent a quick, pointed look, and he caught the message instantly, raising his voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Ms. Whitmore worked as your body double before! How could you turn around and stab her in the back like this?" That bombshell sent shockwaves rippling through the whole set. Everyone around us was sneaking glances our way, hands clamped over their mouths as they whispered back and forth to the people next to them.