@RealNinaB: My dad just lost his retirement savings. Meanwhile, Troy Armitage made $26 BILLION from this crash. He's 19. Nineteen. This is dystopia. I've lost all trust in our politicians for letting this happen.
@OccupyWallStRedux: This isn't "smart investing", this is legalized looting. While Americans drown in debt, Troy Armitage is probably popping champagne on a yacht.
#TroyArmitageExploitsCrisis
@ThisIsYourEconomy: Reminder: You paid more in taxes last year than Troy Armitage did to become $26 billion richer off a financial collapse. This is just more proof that taxes are only for the poor.
@JennyFromTheBronx: He sings about heartbreak and healing, then bets against the entire economy. Can we PLEASE stop calling him a "role model"? He destroyed countless lives just to satiate his greed. I will never watch his movies or listen to his music again.
@Memelord420:[GIF:Troy Armitage, mid-performance, smirks under stage lights as animated dollar bills rain down around him.]
Caption: "Me watching Wall Street burn while adding another 0 to my bank account."
#TooRichToCare
@NovaKnight: I'm a big fan of Troy. Have been for years. If anyone said anything bad about his music or movies, I would've been the first to defend him. But this time? I can't. What he did is not acceptable at all.
@SereneDreamer: Don't be too quick to judge, @NovaKnight. At least let Troy tell his side of the story…
@QuantumFox: What is there to tell? It's a fact that he earned billions. Just like it's a fact that people are losing their jobs in bulk because of billionaires like Troy who exploited the system. I'm with Nova. I love Troy as an artist, but this isn't right.
@PatAttack: I feel bad for Troy's family and Scarlett. They're going to be dragged into this mess for no fault of their own.
@BrokeInBrooklyn: I wouldn't feel that bad for them. Remember, Troy publicly became a billionaire just a few months after getting into a relationship with Scarlett. They say there's always a woman behind a successful man. Guess who's the woman behind most successful man of the year?
@AngryBarista: Scarlett is in on the scheme for sure. She should burn with Troy and his family. Kill the whole lot of them.
@BlaiseFromSilicon: Do you guys even understand how markets work? This wasn't Troy's fault. Sure, he profited, but the real culprits are the big banks. Not Troy. In fact, I respect the guy for his financial genius. If any of you hypocrites were in his place or had the same knowledge, you would've done the same thing. It's just easier to blame a celebrity.
@SenatorClarissaMaynard: What Troy Armitage did was abhorrent and despicable. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it should be done. I will be proposing in Parliament that Troy Armitage be summoned for a congressional hearing. He must answer to the nation he's profited so much from.
In the meantime, I urge the public to boycott Troy Armitage. He doesn't deserve your love or adoration. Raise your voices against unchecked capitalism until billionaires start fearing the retribution of the common people. Create anarchy.
(Break)
"Troy Armitage, you rich, smug asshole! You destroyed my life and so many more with your greed! I hope you die the most painful death there is!"
The man screaming was just one of many. His voice cracked with fury, his face twisted with emotion, as he shouted into a camera crew's microphone. I stood frozen, watching the chaos outside my parents' home from the safety of my room.
"What the fuck are you watching that for?" Evan growled as he stormed into the room and snatched the remote. He turned off the screen with a sharp click, the room falling instantly silent.
I shrugged, still staring at the black screen. "What else can I do? I... don't know what to do right now. It's like the whole world has turned against me in a single day, when it wasn't even my fault."
"Ignore it," Evan said firmly. "Or better yet, let's go to London and stay there for a few months. Maybe even a year. [Eclipse] still has another year and a half before release. We can postpone the rest of the shoot."
"Don't do that," I said, suddenly serious. "It'll be a nightmare for everyone to get back into character after a long break. Better to finish the shoot now while we still have momentum. Besides, didn't you just start dating Jonathan Groff? Why leave him so soon? And don't forget your work on the Joker film."
Evan waved his hand dismissively. "Jonathan and I are more into an open relationship. You know how it is. He won't mind if I come with you for a while."
I tried to mask my expression, but it was difficult. I had never understood the appeal of open relationships. Maybe gay guys were more comfortable with the idea than straight couples, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. If you were open to being with others, what was the point of calling it a relationship at all? Why not just label it 'friends with benefits' and save the drama?
"As for the Joker…" Evan hesitated, running a hand through his hair. "Chris and I were talking last week when he visited the [Eclipse] set. He suggested something new. He thinks we should integrate the Joker origin storyline into the sequel to [The Dark Knight]."
I turned toward him with a flat expression. "You're finding flaws in Joker while you're directing [Eclipse]?"
"I know!" he groaned. "But [Eclipse] isn't meant to be a critics' darling. Joker is."
He wasn't wrong. The script I had worked on had strayed far from the original [Joker] film. I changed a lot, mostly for narrative consistency. In the original, Thomas Wayne was framed as a potential villain early on, a symbol of systemic rot. But this version of the Joker was different. I had rewritten the talk show host, played by Robert De Niro, to be Arthur's fake father instead. It gave the film a more intimate psychological twist, but it also severed any meaningful connection between Batman and the Joker.
Without that link, maybe the story didn't feel weighty enough to stand on its own. And maybe that was what Chris had picked up on.
"I'll think about it," I said after a long pause, fingers drumming on the armrest. "Let's see if I can come up with a better idea to make the Joker film. I'll talk to Nolan as well to see if he has any ideas."
Evan nodded. "Speaking of Nolan, he called me yesterday and asked me to tell you to contact him whenever you have time. He knows how hectic things have been, so call him when you're free to talk. But that's in the future. For now, let's focus on this mess."
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. The room was quiet, save for the faint hum of air conditioning and the distant city noise filtering through the thick glass windows. "I'll have to go back to London anyway. [Harry Potter] is not yet done. I was here only for a week, which now feels like a week that will never end."
"That's good then," Evan said, his tone firmer now, more resolute. "Go to London and get it out of sight, out of mind. Put this all behind you for a year and lay low. You don't have any film releases until next year. People will have forgotten all about it by then."
I turned to him and met his gaze directly. "Just imagine a scenario where you lost everything. Your home, your job, your parents' jobs—everything. And you wholeheartedly believed that I was the sole reason behind it. Will you forget it in a year?"
"But… you're not the reason those people are losing their jobs."
I gave a small nod. "I know that. You know that. But they don't." I gestured toward the tall window behind him. Beyond the glass, across the street, if you squinted hard enough through the sun glare, you could see a cluster of protesters with signs raised above their heads. "They will believe whatever hateful narrative the media feeds them. Yesterday, it was just NBC. Now, all media houses have picked up the story. They had to. Even CNN and Fox—companies I'm working with closely on [Harry Potter] and [Avatar]—had to cover it. And guess what? I am the story. Sure, CNN and Fox weren't as aggressive as that NBC reporter, but the facts alone, without the context of this entire crisis, paint me in a very negative light."
"Then give them the context!" Evan said, leaning forward in his chair. "You own the biggest video streaming website in the world. Use it to tell your side of the story."
"I will," I replied, nodding again. "I'm just waiting a day or two for the dust to settle. I don't want to say something prematurely and have it blow up in my face. I have also contacted an animation company to make me parts of the video."
Evan shook his head in frustration. "You're wasting precious time. The more you delay, the more they'll vilify you. As soon as you present a solid case, like you always do, at least half of them will be on your side. Probably more."
I sat there in silence for a moment, considering his words. He was right.
"Fine," I said at last. "I'll post it soon. I just—"
The door swung open abruptly before I could finish. Paolo and Roger stepped inside, looking serious. Roger, a former intelligence operative turned private security expert, had been assigned to Evan after the Epstein scandal broke. I had also hired top-tier security for my parents and Scarlett, taking no chances.
"Troy, Evan," Roger said urgently as he stepped inside. "We need to relocate you immediately."
My heart jumped. "What happened?" I asked, standing up.
Paolo stepped forward, his voice tense and controlled. "Some kid, around eighteen to twenty, shot Tim, the guard at the main gate, to gain access to your home. Roger caught him just in time, before he could shoot someone else. Tim's been taken to the hospital. Thankfully, the bullet wound was not fatal. No one else was hurt except the assailant, who was shot in the leg by Roger. Still, we can't risk staying here. This place isn't as secure as Hawthorne."
I stared at the two of them for a full minute, struggling to process what I'd just heard. "Was he here to kill me?"
Neither of them answered, but their silence said enough.
The weight of it hit me like a sledgehammer. A robbery would have been bad enough, but an assassination attempt? I hadn't even done anything that multiple others around the world hadn't already done. Yet, somehow, I was the one with a target on my back. The injustice of it was staggering.
Evan reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. Only then did I realize that my hands were clenched into fists, my entire body trembling with rage. I didn't know who to direct it at, but it burned hot in my chest.
"Do you need to take anything important, Troy?" Evan asked quietly, snapping me out of the haze.
I took a deep breath, trying to settle the fury building inside me. "It'll take me just half an hour to get everything ready."
As much as I wanted to stay and prove to the world that I wasn't afraid, doing so would be reckless. This house, beautiful, familiar, filled with memories, wasn't built for this level of threat. My parents had bought it long before we became billionaires. The security was decent, but not built for someone under siege. Hawthorne, on the other hand, was practically a fortress. And unlike the U.S., the UK didn't have lunatics walking around with guns, which automatically made protection a lot easier.
"I'll get the plane ready for takeoff while you get ready," Paolo said, already halfway to the door.
"Yeah, I'll be done in half an hour as well," Evan added, moving toward the door to go to his room.
"No," I said firmly, shaking my head. "Go back to Canada. It should be safe for you there. I'll be fine with Mum and Dad at Hawthorne."
Saying that reminded me I needed to call them and ask them to move there with me and Scarlett. I'd feel far more at ease knowing they were safe and under proper protection. If something happened to me, I could accept that. But the thought of anything happening to them was unbearable for me.
(Break)
Breaking: We begin tonight with a dramatic and deeply disturbing incident at the Beverly Hills estate of global superstar Troy Armitage. Just hours ago, an armed intruder attempted to breach the actor and billionaire investor's heavily guarded property, an incident that turned violent and nearly deadly.
According to law enforcement, the assailant approached the front gate of the estate around 12:45 PM and shot one of Troy's private security guards at close range. He then advanced toward the main residence, reportedly carrying a loaded semi-automatic handgun and shouting threats, allegedly targeting Mr. Armitage directly.
Before the intruder could reach the interior of the home, another member of the security team intercepted him near the main entrance and shot him in the leg, effectively disabling the attack. The assailant is now in police custody and receiving medical treatment under armed supervision at Beverly Hills Medical Center. Authorities have not yet released his identity, but sources suggest he may have been influenced by recent public outrage over Armitage's controversial $26 billion profit during the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Mr. Armitage was reportedly inside the home at the time but was unharmed. The security guard who was shot is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery. Troy's representatives have not issued a formal statement, but a source close to the family confirmed he is "shaken but safe."
Law enforcement believes the motive was personal and politically charged, rather than random. The LAPD is working closely with federal agencies to determine whether this was an isolated act or part of a broader threat against high-profile figures.
In other news, millionaire financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell just a day before his testimony was to be taken by the New York Court. The medical examiner suspects no foul play and has ruled that the death was a suicide by hanging.
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AN: Visit my personal website to read ahead, or check out my second Hollywood story set in the 80s.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com