Little mice catch the big baddie!
[Wait, Jenna Carter? Isn't that the star who's been clout-chasing Rowan Tate this whole time? They're on the same label, right? Wasn't Jenna quietly blacklisted not long ago because of too many scandals? How is Rowan even bringing them up now?]
[There were rumors Jenna was pursuing Rowan, but Rowan isn't into guys. Didn't Jenna allegedly drug Rowan? Rowan filed a police report but there wasn't enough evidence, so Jenna never got charged — the industry just quietly shelved them.]
[Wasn't that just a rumor?]
[If it's real and they were blacklisted, unless someone proves they were framed and is trying to rehabilitate them, no production team would dare put a "tainted" artist on stage… So is this whole thing a scripted bit from the show…? I've got a bad feeling about this…]
[Why is everyone assuming Jenna did all that? There was no company statement, no police update. Rowan's early style is so similar to Jenna's — am I the only one remembering stuff differently? Didn't he even market himself as Jenna's junior before he blew up? Now Rowan's way more famous; it wouldn't be impossible for someone to cover for a bigger star and sacrifice a washed-up act…]
[You guys, this is a live stream. If Rowan had actually done something illegal, no one in the production would publicly say it on air. Didn't he just pause mid-sentence? Maybe they finished the scripted bit and then he got a call — Jenna pulled some stunt and asked him to come sort it out.]
[Exactly. Your imaginations are wild. Jenna's not worth Rowan ruining his career over.]
[Is Rowan even that saintly? Where did his first hit come from? Only he knows, right?]
[What "only he knows"? You thinking he stole Jenna's song? If that were true, why hasn't Jenna said anything?]
[Fans on both sides, chill. This feels wrong… Wait — Ollie? He was here a second ago.]
[Oh, the cameraman spaced out and didn't follow. Ollie slipped off toward that left corner up ahead.]
Caleb Ross felt the same unease. This didn't look as simple as it seemed on the surface, and there had been no notice of any sudden schedule changes.
Before focusing on Ollie, Caleb remembered Jenna Carter — someone under his management had worked with Jenna once. From that contact, Jenna didn't strike him as the kind of person who would do the things being thrown around online.
And Rowan's biggest hits as a singer sounded strikingly like Jenna's early style. That similarity nagged at him.
They were on the same label; before whatever made them fall out, outsiders usually thought they were close. People would call them label brothers — similar styles, nothing strange about that.
But looking at everything now, Rowan's dirty business might go beyond artistic influence.
The thing had started from Ollie's livestream, and Caleb couldn't just watch. He immediately had the team contact the show's producers and hired some astroturfers to control the narrative and the connection between the trending topics and Ollie.
Ollie shoved the half-eaten pack of spicy strips into a sealed bag inside his backpack, grabbed his boxed milk, and wandered off toward a trash can. He didn't find one — instead he ran into a spirit, battered and lost.
Ollie had a soft spot for ghosts. Back when his manager locked him down, it was the friendly spirits who'd sneak downstairs to fetch his takeout and throw his trash away. He liked incorporeals.
Curious, he stopped the spirit that almost walked into the wall. "Where are you going? Do you have unfinished business? I could help clear it. In return, you gotta do me a favor and fetch my takeout for a week."
Jenna Carter didn't know what had happened. After being beaten and shoved into the water by those men at Rowan Tate's place, they meant to teach him a lesson. He'd been losing warmth as he choked and faded.
When he woke up again, he was standing in a corridor that felt like a maze. No matter which way he turned, the view didn't change. He seemed trapped forever.
Until Ollie called out.
A fogged confusion in his head cleared. The corridor began to look familiar — he was in Channel A's studio building.
Jenna had enjoyed glory once. He'd even had the chance to record here — long ago. But the past had turned to smoke. He glanced down at his hands. He could see the floor through his palms. Do people look like this?
Oh. Right. He was dead.
But… he had to stop Rowan. He couldn't let Rowan's plan succeed.
Jenna lifted his head and stared at Ollie. He recognized him — a Starline Entertainment artist. Before Rowan locked him away, Jenna had fantasized about joining Starline when his contract ended.
A senior told him Starline was great. If you got there, you'd never be drained by Rowan again, never squeezed dry by the label. Jenna believed in his talent. Set aside the music Rowan had stolen, he could find a new path.
"Call… the… police," Jenna rasped. His vocal cords must have been damaged; even as a spirit his voice was hoarse and ugly.
"Rowan uses his fame to organize private fan meet-ups that are never publicized. The fans chosen are background-checked — orphans, loners. If they go missing, no one notices. Each meeting, they pick two or three targets. They sell those girls. I don't know where."
"I have a cloud account. I accidentally stole photos of the list from his study. That could be evidence. Please call the police. Save them…"
Jenna stepped forward and grabbed Ollie's arm.
If it were a normal person, his spirit couldn't touch. But Ollie was a magus of sorts — all pure spirit energy — so Jenna could make contact.
"I'll do anything if you alert the police. I'll sell you my soul. Be my slave. Please!"
Jenna had been held in the villa Rowan and his crew used as a transit point for the girls for a long time.
He'd been kept on the second floor and couldn't go elsewhere. About two weeks earlier, a sudden storm knocked out power in a ten-mile radius. Jenna had planned to escape that night but stumbled into the basement where the girls were kept.
Once he saw Rowan's secret, they could never let him go.
Rowan dosed him with sleeping pills every day; Jenna was only allowed lucidity when they needed him.
No one knew how Jenna got the photo of that list. He'd been thinking only to clutch the evidence. Maybe he'd never have a chance to send it out, but at least the pictures were with him.
Ollie studied Jenna's spirit: every inch bruised, hands folded at odd angles — clearly broken bones.
But the man Jenna used to be had been a prince in white suits, playing piano in the halls of music, chasing his dreams. A faint halo of golden thread still clung to him. Even this battered spirit had accrued more merit than you'd expect.
"Give me the account and password. I'll call the police right now. You don't have to become my slave. Just help me by grabbing my takeout for a week, okay?"
Jenna didn't care about bargaining. He agreed on the spot, even if Ollie later tried to back out and force him to do something else. He would do anything if it saved those girls.
Caleb watched as the online chatter cooled and the producers, out of safety concerns, pulled Ollie's livestream. Whatever happened next was out of their hands — it was Rowan's problem to explain.
He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when things went further off the rails.
The entire channel feed had been cut in the middle of the broadcast. People went wild with speculation.
[Holy crap, what happened? They shut down Ollie's stream and Channel A too? Did something really go wrong? Did Rowan actually confess something illegal on the show?]
[Guys stop — he's smart, he'd hide. But who knew some snack-crazed idiot would go and ruin everything?]
[LOL. Rowan got outplayed by a foodie. I can't.]
[Ollie's mom, you were right about him snacking. How do you even mess up a live show because you ate something? No wonder Caleb keeps tabs on him.]
[Seriously, give Caleb PTSD. If Rowan's career crumbles because of this, Marcus is gonna hate Ollie forever — all from a pack of spicy strips?]
[Ollie you okay? Did you find a trash can? You better run — Rowan might come hunting you offline now lol.]
[Are you all sick? Just because the stream was shut doesn't mean Rowan did anything illegal. Wait for the police report.]
[Exactly. What if it's all a misunderstanding? Y'all are so ready to accuse people.]
[Oh please, you only waited for the police report now? When Jenna got canceled you guys were slapping labels on him faster than anyone could blink.]
[Jenna's tragic. Their only sin was being in the same company as Rowan. I don't buy that Rowan didn't use Jenna's songs and resources to lift himself up. Hope Jenna's okay.]
[Rowan's fans are already doing damage control? This broadcast mattered — they wouldn't cut it unless something hit a sensitive line. Wait for the announcement; your idol might get nailed then.]