Chapter Six

This was the first outdoor reality show to be live-streamed—no scripts, filters, or edits. What everyone saw was what everyone got. Once this gimmick was released, a large audience was attracted.

The live-streaming chat room had over a million viewers, including the Belairs. They had been missing their daughter for twenty years after she was stolen from her crib by the nanny a few days after she was born. They had no idea why Liam told them to watch this show, but he was adamant that they did. So, they were tuned in with everyone else, watching the countdown end and the premiere begin. Everyone was now waiting for the guest to arrive.

The guests had six hours in transit before they started arriving one by one. The production crew had arranged transportation to the recording location at the base of the mountain.

The first car pulled up, which started the cameras rolling. The door opened, and Maxina got out carrying a military green duffle bag.

What caught everyone's attention was the fact that she wasn't wearing makeup. Her face was perfect without a blemish, and she had a cute little spray of freckles across her nose and under her eyes that she always covered with makeup because of the McDonald family. They didn't like them. Well, she was done pretending to be their sister and daughter. She was too adorable. Her skin looked smooth as a polished gem and seemed to sparkle under the sun.

Her appearance held the attention of the Belairs as they stared, lost in thought. Both Nora and James were thinking the same thing: that's our daughter. James quickly texted their four sons. "Quick! Go to the reality show that's broadcasting! Your mom and I found your sister."

Maximillian, who was the eldest and the most skeptical, tuned into the broadcast as he looked at Max. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was his sister. Wearing a simple black tracksuit with her red hair in a high ponytail, she looked like a student. She didn't look like she belonged participating in this type of show.

Maximillian texted their father back. "That's our sister. I feel it in my heart and soul." He was emotional, as anyone would be in their position. He thought she was dead and her body buried somewhere no one could find. Living with the what-ifs was hard, but the not knowing was harder. Despite being in a business meeting, as he was the CEO of the family company, he continued watching the reality show and listening to the meeting, chiming in when his input was needed.

The other three brothers, Christopher, Phillipe, and Grayson, thought their father was crazy. Their sister had to be dead. Of course, no one would say that to their parents' faces. They tuned into the broadcast and saw exactly what everyone else in the family saw. Their missing family member. Looking into the camera, Max smiled and bowed her head respectfully to the audience before moving off to the side for the others to arrive. The three didn't even bother replying to their father. They were focused on their sister.

Her appearance sparked the chat room into a frenzy of comments. Her real family read each comment, the good and the bad. As much as they wanted to comment, they knew it wasn't safe to do so because if someone figured out that she was their missing daughter and sister, she could be in danger.

"Who is this Goddess? I need all the information on her, stat!"

"OMG! After a year, Maxina has come back to us prettier than before, but something has changed. She looks free." Maximillian frowned as he read that comment and started looking into her life. That's when he discovered the bad reputation she had, but he didn't believe her to be a slut or a parasite. She was popular without needing men, so there was no reason for her to parasite off of them. "What changed?" He asked himself as he dug deeper.

"She does look better. I remember her eyes being haunted, and she started to hide who she was. I wonder what changed." Grayson started checking her previous pictures before she stopped appearing in public, and they were right. Her eyes looked dead and empty, as though she was only a shell of herself.

Looking closer at the pictures of her, he could make out a transparent figure, almost like it was a trick of the light. It was in all her photos. That was very eerie. What made it worse was that it was the figure of what appeared to be a little girl. That was creepy. He wondered if it was someone she had known.

As he was investigating, the fans were still in the chat, commenting on Max's appearance. The other two brothers were still watching because they didn't want to look away from the screen, scared she would vanish.

"I might not like her, but I have to say that her beauty is out of this world. She's an angel among us mere mortals. If she does well in the show, I will become her fan." Nora smiled as she read that. After all, she was a spitting image of her.

Just as people were praising her, just as many were sending her hate.

"She actually dared to come. What a shameless bitch! No sense of self."

"Who wants to see her? I want to see Fred and his princess sister!"

While the viewers were commenting, three more cars arrived at the base of the mountain. They stepped out in this order. Jessica, a B-ranked actress; Drake, an A-ranked actor; and a well-known K-Pop singer, Spice.

Jessica was wearing an elegant dress that flowed around her feet, with makeup that highlighted her eyes and high cheekbones. When her eyes landed on Max, they filled with cold disdain, which confused Max because she was sure that she had never done anything to Jessica.

Drake and Spice were both wearing sporty outfits. It was funny because they were almost matching. Black tank tops with athletic jogging pants and sneakers. The only difference was that Spice was wearing a duck-bill hat. They actually greeted Max with a smile, which made Jessica sneer. Drake and Spice knew Max's reputation, but they also believed something more was going on behind the scenes that no one could see.

Max gave them a small smile and responded naturally. Jessica, remembering that this was being broadcast, smiled, but anyone could see the anger and coldness in her eyes. She was upset because they greeted Max first. She was a nobody! The coldness made everyone distance themselves from her, as they didn't feel like she was approachable.

At that moment, another car arrived, and the door opened. Fred got out first, dressed in a black suit that made him more handsome than any prince, but also made him stand out, as this wasn't the appropriate place for a suit. People must've missed the part about this being in the mountains.

After he gained his footing, he reached his hand back into the car, where a delicate, soft hand was placed in his palm. With his support, the person got out of the car slowly, as if this were a movie. Max knew who it was before the face even appeared. It was Karen.

She was wearing a pink princess-style dress that made her look like Cinderella going to the ball, with makeup and an angelic appearance. The sun practically formed a little halo around her head, which didn't suit her at all. All that was missing was the tiara.

Fans went straight to typing away, commenting as they were screaming internally.

"Fred in a suit is too handsome for me to take. His sister really is beautiful, like an angel. Perfect siblings!"

"OMG! They're wearing matching sibling outfits. Someone wake me from this dream! They look amazing."

Max wanted to laugh at the duo because they looked like they were dressed for a grand banquet at the palace rather than a web show that was taking place in the mountains. This wasn't a fashion show, but there would be a good show later.

Jessica skipped over to the duo as they walked together towards everyone. She held hands with Karen, smiling warmly, but anyone could tell that the warmth was meant for Fred. Everything made sense to Max right away. The coldness and disdain towards her were because of that past shit with him. Ha!

Out of professional courtesy, Drake and Spice had greeted the duo as well. One could plainly see that they didn't necessarily like the two. Who could blame them?

Max looked over at Fred and Karen, giving them a small two-finger salute which could barely be counted as a greeting. She looked away right after, as though the sight of them bothered her. Christopher Belair, being a Mafia boss, picked up on the tension between the duo and his sister. His eyes darkened as he started looking into it.

The information wasn't hard to find, as it was literally everywhere. She was spotted with Fred, which caused a huge issue, and instead of anyone addressing it, they stayed silent. Christopher believed her manager, and that company was the reason her reputation went downhill. His bloodlust hit him hard as he wanted to kill those who hurt his sister.

Karen wanted to join the show because of the reputation. Now, because of everything with Max, she wanted to rub her relationship with Fred in her face. Max knew that she would try to use Fred and Zac to tease or embarrass her. Karen wanted her reputation completely ruined, with no hope of coming back. Since it was being live-streamed, it was easy for one's reputation to become ruined, but what Karen didn't know was that she was being 100% authentic, Max. The one she hid for a year.

She wanted to avoid as many interactions with them as possible; she appeared cold and indifferent, in hopes that would keep them away. The same would go for Zac. She wasn't interested in the drama anymore.

Fred felt uncomfortable seeing her like that. For a year, she would run over to him, acting like a younger sibling supposed to and all he did was push her away because he already had a little sister, or so he thought. He could feel something dying inside of him as he couldn't see that warmth that once used to be in her eyes for him. It was then that he understood they had pushed her to her breaking point.

The house felt different after she left. The warmth that she brought with her vanished as soon as she walked out of the door. He didn't think she could make it without their family's money, but looking at her, she didn't seem fazed. Instead, she looked free.

Fred's fans who were watching the show didn't know what to think of her behavior, as they were surprised. She always greeted Fred with a smile.

"Maxina didn't run over to cling to Fred. What's going on?"

"Does she finally realize that Fred won't pay attention to her? Has she finally come to her senses?"

"With her character being as annoying as it is, I doubt she would have that kind of self-awareness."

While this was being discussed, two more cars rolled up into the frame. The first car's door opened, and a tall, handsome man stepped out. It was Zac. His arrival surprised everyone except for two people.

Max already knew because it happened in her past life. Plus, she didn't care about him anymore. The second person was Karen. There was no surprise in her eyes. Only joy. It was clear that she was already aware of him being a special guest. She was probably already thinking about getting him alone. Sick bastards.

While everyone was greeting each other, Zac couldn't stop looking over at Max. She looked up at him and gave him a small nod as a greeting before she looked away.

Zac looked her over. She was in a dark tracksuit, but she was sparkling in a way he hadn't seen since they were younger. He was also feeling some kind of way because she didn't walk over and greet him warmly as she would've done in the past. She looked at him as though he was a stranger.

Jessica witnessed the interaction and said, "Zac, why hasn't Maxina come and greeted you? I heard that you two were childhood friends." Zac didn't want to say anything, but Max had no problem speaking.

She calmly stated, "We have severed our relationship. Whatever we were is now in the past and should stay that way. Thank you, Ms. Jessica. By the way, it's just Max. Not Maxina."

Her words left everyone who was present stunned because the words were blunt but polite. Her eyes held no emotion, and her words held finality. When did she become so bold? Did she forget this was being broadcast live?

Jessica, the big gossip that she was, couldn't stop herself as she asked, "Why did you break off the friendship? What happened?" When Max went to reply, Zac cut her off as he looked at Jessica coldly, "How is it any of your business? It's between Max and me."

Ever since Max revealed that they severed their connection, his expression turned dark as his madness came forth, and he became more unapproachable. Even some of the fans watching shivered in fear. When Jessica saw his expression, she quickly apologized and stepped behind Karen because she was scared.

"How dare Maxina break her friendship with Zac?"

"Zac must've been the one who did it because he was annoyed by her. He didn't want her pestering him anymore."

"I don't agree with that. If you look at Maxina, you can see that she's not someone who has been rejected. It's a pity that we don't know what Maxina was going to say."

Zac's fans were getting unhappy because of the discussions that were happening among the other fans. They couldn't stay quiet any longer.

"Maxina isn't worthy of breaking off her friendship with our brother. How can she be so shameless?"

"She's definitely changing her tactics, trying to be all mysterious. She's trying to capture my husband's attention!"

"Zac, don't be deceived by the scheming bitch!! Stay away from the snake in the grass!"

"Zac won't pay attention to her, and when she sees that, she'll revert back to chasing him. Watch, by the end of the show, she'll be back to her shameless self."

Max's family was having a hard time staying calm as this was going on. Christopher had already punched a hole in his wall multiple times to keep from killing someone. Normally, he exercises perfect control, but everyone was crossing his bottom line. His family.

Everyone seemed to forget about the second car as someone stepped out behind them, causing the chat room to go crazy and messages to start flooding in.

The newcomer was wearing sunglasses that covered half his face. He was tall, with an air of defiance and elegance around him. Underneath his sunglasses, his facial features were so striking, and with only half his face showing, he stole the limelight from everyone present.