Another gunshot rang out.
Then another.
Maria stood over the body, gun smoking, her expression as cold as ice. Neo, who had just rushed over, froze at the scene. He stared between the corpse and Maria, processing what he'd just witnessed.
Then, with a heavy exhale, he muttered, "Are you okay? Shit—slip of the tongue—you don't look okay. You need a hospital."
His gaze turned to Chloe, who stood watching the scene, unnervingly calm.
"I'll be taking my leave," Chloe said flatly. "Some people need... correcting."
And with that, she turned and walked away.
"I want to go to the variety show," Maria said, voice hollow.
Neo blinked. "You what?"
"They wanted drama, right?" she hissed. "Then I'll give them the chaos they deserve. Take me there—or leave. And... thanks, for covering the scene."
Neo raised a brow, lips curling into a crooked smile. "Oh, I'll cover it, especially since you killed that man. This is going to be fun."
With a burning building behind them and a corpse cooling at her feet, the two walked off like old friends catching up.
—
On the variety show stage, the host looked awkwardly at the camera. "It seems Maria isn't available. Let's move on—"
A single note pierced the air.
A voice unlike any other—hoarse, pained, raw—ripped through the silence. It wasn't just a performance. It was a confession. It was vengeance. It was truth wrapped in agony.
A voice. Raw. Angry. Broken. Furious.
It wasn't just singing. It was screaming with elegance. Burning. Every note held years of torment. Revenge. Betrayal.
The air shifted.
Even the audience, full of influencers and critics, sat upright.
Tessa's head jerked up.
And then, Maria walked onstage.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Burning with fury.
Gasps erupted. Her presence was like a ghost rising from a grave of betrayal. She met Tessa's eyes without flinching as she sang Rising Phoenix—a song soaked in wrath, rebirth, and pain. A song about a victim who had been forced into silence, now willing to burn the world just to scream.
Dead silence.
Even in the livestream.
Even the haters froze.
Until the flood came:
Live comments exploded:
> [Wait is this live? Is this part of the show??]
[She looks like she crawled out of hell just to sing this.]
[She's BLEEDING!!]
[No way this is fake—it looks way too real]
[Arrest her already! She's trying to manipulate the public with a pity show!]
[This is a publicity stunt. Right? RIGHT?!]
[God this drama is giving me LIFE]
[She's clearly guilty and playing victim. Cops, do your job.]
[What in the K-drama did I just watch?!]
[I have chills—this isn't acting.]
[Someone check on Tessa. She's shaking.]
[Maria fan go die]
[Why is no one stopping her bleeding??]
[Okay but that blood is a little too convincing…]
[Is this… real?]
[Okay this is clearly a performance, the blood is fake right?]
[That's some top-tier method acting. Props to Maria.]
[Girl be so dramatic, this ain't an action film]
[Where are the paramedics? That's a wound!]
[I get she wants revenge or whatever, but this is not the place]
[This is straight up trauma dump live on TV, what the hell]
[She's just doing this for attention—Linda is still mute, REMEMBER THAT]
[I don't care how hurt she is, Maria's still guilty]
[Tessa's the real victim. Look how pale she looks!]
[Bro what am I WATCHING right now]
Then Maria tilted her head, smile twisted with venom. "This is Rising Phoenix. Tessa," she said clearly, "your little palm trick didn't work. I'm back."
And with that, she pressed into her gunshot wound. Blood oozed, vivid and real.
Gasps.
Screams.
The audience sat frozen in collective shock.
Cameras caught Tessa's face—pale, twitching. She tried to smile but it came out twisted, eerie.
The host entered the stage as she try to get the attention from what just happened the contestants went to the waiting room to wait for the results.
Tessa felt like dying right then why is that all her plans don't go well she then took a deep breath and
And the real chaos began.
News outlets went insane.
BREAKING: MARIA WANTED BY POLICE FOR LINDA'S CONDITION?
Tessa responded online: "I'm not involved. I'm also shocked. Please don't spread rumors."
Comment sections spiraled:
> [She's so fake now she's playing the "innocent bestie" card.]
[Oh please—how can Tessa act clueless when all her friends are falling like dominoes?]
[I KNEW Maria was psycho. That performance was psychotic.]
[Tessa's still the victim here.]
[Victim my ass—Maria is seriously bleeding]
[Maria should grow up ]
[THIS GIRL SHOULD BE LOCK UP FOR GOD SAKE MARIA IS DANGEROUS]
[Maria is toxic]
[Maria is that psycho kind of girlfriend that make any guy wish to be single]
Then the real bomb dropped.
Official police statement: Maria was a VICTIM. Linda was drugged by someone else. The 'witness' was bribed. Maria had been kidnapped and abused. Investigation ongoing.
Instant reversal.
The internet broke.
[THIS. IS. UNHINGED.]
[SOMEONE CALL A LAWYER, A PRIEST, A DOCTOR—SOMEBODY!]
[TESSA WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOO]
[This is way beyond scandal, this is CRIME show level]
[And here I thought I was watching a normal singing show total horror]
[So this is how the entertainment industry all fake smile and giggles]
[We should not trust everything anything can be made don't trust every information infact life is complicated]
> [I'm gonna throw up]
[WE WERE BLIND. SHE WAS INJURED AND STILL SANG?]
[Protect Maria at all costs]
[She's literally the definition of rising from the ashes]
[I hope everyone who doubted her never sleeps in peace again]
[Tessa is sweet. She doesn't have that in her.]
[She nearly got another girl killed. What the hell.]
[Tessa was set up. This is bullying now.]
[I KNEW IT. SHE WAS FRAMED. MARIA WAS FRAMED.]
[The way Tessa played the innocent card all this time?! DISGUSTING.]
[Just because Maria's bleeding doesn't mean she's innocent. Wake up.]
[Tessa fans get ready to log off, your idol is DONE]
Then came the bans.
Accounts defending Tessa were mass reported. Screens blacked out. Usernames vanished mid-argument.
> [LOL they're banning Tessa's fans like roaches]
[Another one gone!]
[If you support Tessa, just know—your time here is limited.]
[Tessa stans reporting abuse now LMAOOO]
[Sit down, devil stans. This isn't your platform anymore.]
A top comment summary skyrocketed:
> "Maria always won. Then banned drugs were found in her water. Linda, her rival and 'friend,' gets muted. Ruth wins—then is hospitalized. Maria disappears. News brands her guilty. Then she returns, bleeding, to sing that. Tessa smiles through it all. You do the math."
Follow-ups:
> [Holy shit. This is deeper than I thought]
[And they say idols don't suffer? She bled on stage!]
[She was shot. Abused. Lied about. And still stood there like a queen.]
[Maria's comeback is LEGENDARY. Better than any K-drama.]
Then finally—
> [Let's be honest... someone's going to jail. And it's NOT Maria.]
And just like that, the internet became a battlefield—with Maria rising in a blaze of blood and justice, and Tessa... trembling behind a smile no one believed anymore.
-------
The director took Maria to his office
The room was dimly lit, soundproofed, and stifling. The director stood by the window, rubbing his temples.
The door creaked open.
Maria stepped inside, her expression unreadable, clothes still smeared with dried blood and dust. The air around her felt heavy — like something terrible had just been unleashed and hadn't yet settled.
"Maria." The director turned sharply. "What the hell happened out there? Are you even alright? You're injured, for God's sake. You should have gone straight to a hospital."
Maria said nothing.
The director sighed, trying to contain his rising frustration. "Do you think this is a game? That performing while bleeding makes you some kind of legend? I'm telling you, this fame frenzy—maybe you need a break before you—"
She walked past him and placed a small flash drive on the table. Without a word, she inserted it into the studio laptop.
The screen came to life.
Warehouse. Grit. Shadows
And then Tessa, walking in like she owned the place.
"maria I warned you right that you should have quit now see I have investigated you really your family hate you they would not even blink if anything happened to you.
Then Maria voice asking her if she was the one responsible for the banned drug and Ruth accident..
And so what if I'm it doesn't matter now dies it Tessa said and look at the thug, "break her limbs cut her tongue then scar her face and then sell her to a brothel if people ask I will just make people post you ran away your lovers and also force her to take the blame for the banned drug scandal and if it gets too much kill her Tessa said then left. And the scene if Maria getting beaten up before the screen went black.
The director's face turned white.
He staggered back a step. "What—what is this…?"
He lunged toward the laptop in panic.
Maria calmly reached forward and pulled the flash drive out.
"Relax," she said. "This is just a trailer. I haven't uploaded the full movie yet."
The director's jaw clenched. "Maria—"
"I'm not interested in theatrics," she cut him off coldly. "Remove Tessa from the show. Immediately. Or the internet will get to see the raw footage with commentary and subtitles."
"You're threatening me?"
"I'm making a suggestion," she said with a hint of a smile. "One that gives you the chance to survive the coming storm with minimal burns."
She turned to leave, then paused at the door.
"I've already been set on
I'mfire once. I don't mind watching others burn for a change."
She walked out.
The door clicked shut.
The director sank into his chair, trembling. Outside, the chaos of the world waited — and it had Maria's voice behind it.
---