Chapter 7 - The Social Media War
By Wednesday morning, Chloe had officially launched her digital counter-attack.
She posted a tearful, twenty-minute video on TikTok and Instagram.
She claimed that I was a cruel, vindictive stepsister who was stealing her mother's business.
She even accused me of faking my burn injuries to gain sympathy from the police.
The video went wildly viral within a matter of hours.
Hundreds of angry teenagers were leaving one-star reviews on the bistro's Yelp page.
Julian was pacing the kitchen, furious about the sudden influx of hateful phone calls.
"We have to issue a public statement, Sam," Julian argued.
"No," I replied calmly, setting up a tripod in the center of the dining room.
"We are going to show them the absolute truth."
I sat down in front of the camera, wearing a simple shirt that clearly displayed my extensive medical bandages.
I did not cry, and I did not play the victim.
Instead, I held up the printed screenshots of Chloe's massive credit card bills that I had been paying for years.
I showed the audience the legal lease proving I was the sole owner of the bistro.
Finally, I played a terrifying security camera clip from the kitchen.
It was the footage of Eleanor screaming at me and violently hurling the mug of boiling tea.
I uploaded the video to all our social media platforms without a single filter or edit.
The internet's reaction was instantaneous and absolutely explosive.
The public opinion flipped so fast it caused a digital whiplash.
Chloe's comment section was immediately flooded with millions of people calling out her disgusting lies.
Major food critics and local news stations picked up the story, praising my resilience.
Our reservation system crashed because thousands of people were trying to book tables to support the business.
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Chloe had tried to cancel me on the internet.
Instead, she had accidentally given me the best marketing campaign of my entire life.
