Rising From Betrayal Reborn As The Family Outcast novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

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The live broadcast cameras focused on the guests’ performances, and at this moment, Darren’s completely hopeless expression was blown up on screen, making both his fans and the audience chuckle a little.

Darren’s haters, along with fans of celebrities he’d “bullied” in the past, were going off in the comments.

The general sentiment was that Darren would be a liability, possibly even affecting the trainees’ ranking in the competition. They questioned why the show’s producers had chosen someone like him to be a guest.

Aside from the constant bashing of Darren, there were also discussions about Alicia’s current behavior, and endless praise for Nicole and Felicity.

This left some of the casual viewers feeling a bit fed up. They thought, ‘Is it really the same few insults and compliments being thrown around over and over again? Isn’t it a bit annoying?’

As a result, the viewers’ dislike for Alicia and Darren wasn’t as strong anymore, and they weren’t particularly buying the praise for Nicole and Felicity. After all, from the viewers’ point of view, Nicole and Felicity just couldn’t compare to Alicia in terms of looks.

Of course, there were also a lot of people who were intrigued, eager to see just how amazing Nicole and Felicity would be when it came to singing and dancing.

They wanted to see how impressive Nicole and Felicity were and how Alicia would handle the situation, not to mention how Darren would mess things up.

Director Marley Duncan kept a close eye on the livestream’s viewer count, popularity, and comments. Seeing how heated the discussions were, he realized that bringing Alicia and Darren onto the show had been a brilliant decision.

Marley clapped his hands. “If no one has any objections, let’s head over to the recording location for the joint show. It’s about a two-and-a-half-hour drive. Please board the bus and let’s get going.”

The production team had prepared a luxurious minibus for the eight guests. The team hadn’t split them up, as they hoped that the two-and-a-half-hour ride might spark some drama or viral moments for the live broadcast.

Earlier, the production team had informed the guests to bring their luggage, as they would be staying at a hotel for the first recording session. So, all eight of them brought their suitcases. Now, the assistants of the guests were bringing their luggage

over.

Alicia and Darren didn’t bring assistants; their luggage had been arranged by Jason’s team. Both of them only had one suitcase, though Alicia’s was slightly larger than Darren’s.

As for the other guests, Simon brought two suitcases, while Hannah and Felicity each had three, accompanied by one Issistant each. Nicolas and Maxwell each brought four suitcases, with two assistants each.

The one with the most luggage was Nicole, who had five suitcases. Not only did she bring two assistants, but she also had a nakeup artist with her. The livestream was instantly flooded with comments.

Nicole really lives up to her title as a wealthy heiress. Even her luggage is extravagant.]

Believe it or not, this is Nicole traveling light]

Can you believe Nicolas and Maxwell each brought four suitcases? What in the world are they packing?]

LOL. I’m a fan of Nicolas. Don’t be fooled by his top-tier celebrity status, or his transition into a serious actor. He’s actually ust a total diva.]

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[Exactly, Nicolas really cares about his looks and his image way more than he lets on, except when he’s filming.]

[This is hilarious. Maxwell must be a true buddy of Nicolas. Maxwell’s just as much of a diva.]

[So, I’m guessing their luggage is mostly clothes.]

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[We can probably guess that Nicole’s luggage is mostly clothes too. Maybe we’ll even see a bunch of limited-edition outfits. and jewelry.]

[Well, compared to them, Alicia and Darren look a little pathetic.]

[Yeah, they didn’t bring assistants, and they only have one suitcase each. The gap between the rich and the poor is way too obvious.]

[No wonder Alicia’s so jealous of Nicole. I’d envy Nicole too, if I were her.]

[Can’t blame Alicia. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon like Nicole. Alicia’s just not as lucky.]

The comments were full of praise for Nicole’s background and ridicule toward Alicia for being low-key.

This left Alicia’s fans feeling displeased, and they started to clap back. But they were soon mocked by Nicole’s fans, saying Alicia’s fans were poor just like their idol.

Because Nicole had so many fans, along with support from some of Felicity’s, Nicolas’s, and Maxwell’s fans, Alicia’s fans’ attempts to defend Alicia quickly got buried in the flood of comments.

Even when casual viewers spoke up, Nicole’s fans would accuse them of being Alicia’s fans and start bashing them too. This made the casual viewers feel irritated with Nicole’s fans.

Many of the viewers tuning in for the show were ordinary people with average incomes. They were also part of what Nicole’s fans called “the poor ones”.

Jackson watched the livestream comments and, somewhat speechless, turned to Jason. “Although our marketing department has been giving Nicole a boost, at least half of the comments here are from her fans.”

The “fans” hired by the marketing department had only taken the lead, while the rest of the comments were all written by Nicole’s fans.

“Looks like Nicole’s been playing her wealthy heiress card to keep her fans hooked,” Jason said, not surprised at all. “People always care the most about what they don’t have.”

Jackson paused for a moment. “Isn’t Nicole the heiress of the Hammond family? Why would she need to work so hard on that image?”

Jason twirled the herb bracelet that Alicia had made for him. “Nicole is just a stepdaughter. Of course, she cares.”

Jackson was taken aback. “Nicole’s not the true heiress of the Hammond family? But the Hammond brothers spoil her rotten. They even went to a gala she attended before, and they’ve given her tons of resources. Like, Nicole’s the spokesperson for Hammond Group.”

So Jackson had always figured they were just hyping up their actual little sister.

Jason’s gaze remained calm as he answered, “That’s right. Nicole isn’t the true heiress. Alicia is the real heiress of the Hammond family.”

“What?” Jackson said, his face filled with shock. “Alicia is the true heiress of the Hammond family? From the way the Hammond brothers and the others treat her, I thought Nicole was their real sister.”

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Jackson was confused. “Doesn’t Nicole worry that her and Alicia’s true identities might be exposed?”

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Jason replied, “Based on what happened before, it’s hard for their identities to be revealed. After all, the Hammond family always had Nicole’s back and kept things under wraps.

“And Nicole’s not worried at all, because even though she’s the stepdaughter, the Hammond family treats her like she’s the real heiress anyway. But things might change after this.”

If Alicia hadn’t been hurt to the point of cutting ties, things would likely have played out in Nicole’s favor. But since Alicia suddenly flipped the script and refused to play along, Nicole’s plans went out the window.

Jason thought, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Changing the wheel doesn’t make a difference, even if the squeak sounds different.

Moreover, Nicole had been so spoiled over the years that she started to think she was way more important than she actually

was.

Putting everyone else aside, Alicia was the one who had shared unforgettable years with Nicolas and Maxwell. After all, even Jason had once envied them.

Jason thought, ‘Would Nicolas and Maxwell really cut Alicia off completely for Nicole? The key is, this variety show is live. After all these years, can Nicolas and Maxwell really pretend to not know Alicia in front of the cameras?

‘Isn’t that the reason so many celebrities avoid live variety shows? They’re afraid of their instincts and habits revealing sides of themselves the audience won’t like.’

As Jason had predicted, Alicia and Darren had the least luggage. The two of them simply placed their suitcases and got on the bus, choosing a spot in the middle to sit.

A moment later, the other six guests boarded. As usual, Nicolas and Maxwell went straight to the row where Alicia was sitting. Whenever they were all in the same vehicle in the past, they always sat together.

Maxwell then said to Darren, “Give me your seat.”

Darren looked at him, puzzled. “What?”

Maxwell remarked, as if it were obvious, “Get up and sit somewhere else.”

Darren didn’t move. Instead, he looked at Alicia with an annoyed expression, silently asking her with his eyes if Maxwell was actually crazy.

Alicia gave him a confirining look, thinking, ‘Yes, he’s crazy. Just ignore him.’

At this moment, the live broadcast camera had followed them, and the screen was flooded with question marks in the

comments.

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