Chloe Carter’s statement was not a betrayal; it was a business decision. In the cold, transactional ecosystem of Hollywood, she had assessed Leo’s plummeting stock value and liquidated her shares before the market closed. I felt no surprise, only the quiet, clinical satisfaction of a strategist whose predictions were proven correct.
The days that followed were a masterclass in social and professional exorcism. Leo Vance ceased to be a person and became a liability. His face, once plastered on billboards selling luxury watches and Italian sports cars, was now the visual shorthand for disgrace. The endorsements evaporated first, with brands issuing terse statements about "re-evaluating their partnerships" and "values no longer aligning." Then the projects vanished. The WWII epic he was slat
