The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 250: You Were Involved Too]

Ocean Park Boulevard, Twitter Headquarters.

In the office, Hawke rapidly browsed through Twitter, which was being flooded with posts about the St. Beatrice priests scandal.

This news explosion hit especially hard this time.

Fox was not the only outlet; nearly every media organization had related material in their news inboxes.

From Yahoo to Google to Twitter, the priest and the young boy had taken over the trending topics.

Hawke called Caroline, "Release the news about Nicole Kidman."

An Oscar-winning actress possibly connected to the priest scandal would further heighten the event's profile, accelerating its spread nationwide and globally.

Hawke added a reminder, "No fabrications."

"Got it," Caroline replied as she pulled out the USB containing photos and videos of Nicole Kidman, plugged it into the computer, logged into Twitter's backend, and quickly edited the news.

She highlighted several photos and a short video, all featuring the St. Beatrice Church.

"Devout Catholic, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman donated a significant sum to St. Beatrice Church."

Caroline kept Hawke's words in mind; a responsible media outlet like Twitter couldn't report false news.

Thus, it was genuine that Nicole Kidman frequented the church and donated funds, with evidence in photos and videos.

Similarly, the subsequent news articles were accurate as well.

"Sources say that Nicole Kidman's friend and manager Pat Kingsley is also a frequent visitor and donor to St. Beatrice Church."

Beneath this segment, Caroline added images of Pat Kingsley entering and leaving St. Beatrice Church and the ones showing her being taken in by the LAPD.

Pat Kingsley was one of the individuals summoned by the LAPD.

Hawke had already learned that this Hollywood manager, once at the West Division, quickly spilled the details of repeatedly sexually abusing male students from St. Beatrice Welfare School.

Through text, Caroline wove these genuine images and videos into a news piece that was then published.

She also promoted the news to the homepage, bolding and highlighting it, placing it next to the St. Beatrice priests story.

The news was real, every part of it was true, but the angles differed, leading to vastly different interpretations by the audience.

Twitter had chosen a side, leaning toward Tom Cruise.

...

The article was published for just a few minutes when comments started pouring in.

"Too horrifying, Nicole Kidman was involved? Unbelievable; she has always been my idol."

Someone responded, "She has worked with Pat Kingsley for over a decade. It's said that for her, Pat Kingsley has had a falling out with Tom Cruise. Have you heard the recording? She has already been taken by the LAPD. If the manager is involved, do you think Nicole Kidman isn't?"

Others chimed in, "I don't believe it! Have you seen those who were apprehended? Besides the two priests from St. Beatrice, they were all Hollywood professionals: directors, screenwriters, agents, and Disney executives. It's totally regular."

More users @Los Angeles Police Department: "There's a suspect named Nicole Kidman here!"

As more users continued to mention the LAPD, a self-proclaimed expert added, "Based on the information already revealed, aside from the priests, everyone involved in this scandal are Hollywood professionals. Nicole Kidman has frequently appeared at St. Beatrice and donated money; that can't just be a coincidence; she must have been purchasing special services from the church!"

Others were confused, "Purchasing?"

One user explained, "I have some insight into the Catholic diocese in Los Angeles. The church doesn't really hold that much wealth; they've run deficits each year for the past decade due to declining church influence and fewer donors, forcing them to find ways to increase income."

Another replied, "So those high-income Hollywood figures donate money, and in return, they provide special services."

Others began analyzing Nicole Kidman: "After her divorce from Cruise, she seemed free but lost her only support in Hollywood, compelling her to seek help from other bigwigs. Looking at her award-winning films, she got help from Harvey Weinstein -- the chubby producer infamous for his dealings with actresses. Kidman surely felt a lot of pressure to please him and must have redirected that somewhere..."

People couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild; every minute was filled with outrageous theories.

The trending keywords around the priest scandal included Catholic Church, St. Beatrice, Hollywood, and donations.

Nicole Kidman's story was intertwined with every popular keyword.

Searching these terms on Google would bring up news about Nicole on the first page.

On Twitter, Nicole's story went viral; the idea that the Oscar winner might be involved in the priest scandal had more impact than anyone including James Gunn and Pat Kingsley could muster.

Nicole's situation resembled what Tom Cruise faced earlier.

When a star faces negative news, media outlets often don't strive to clarify;they create sensational narratives.

A small figure could rise to fame overnight while a major celebrity could plummet -- a far juicier story to tell.

...

Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios.

After wrapping up the audition for Bewitched, Nicole Kidman stepped out of the studio only to be met by a throng of reporters bombarding her with questions.

This morning, Nicole and her manager Andrea were both auditioning on the set, and her agent Kingsley was detained by the LAPD again. She didn't know what was going on.

Andrea thought it was about Kingsley and quickly stepped in front of Nicole, yelling, "We are not taking any questions regarding Pat Kingsley!"

Just then, a loud-voiced reporter shouted, "Is it because Nicole Kidman did something similar to Pat Kingsley that you're feeling guilty?"

Nicole and Andrea froze momentarily.

Other reporters jumped in with questions.

"Did you go to St. Beatrice Church and donate money to them because they could provide you special services?"

"Don't you feel ashamed for abusing minors?"

"Did the LAPD summon you?"

Among the reporters, some offered words of sympathy, "Nicole, I urge you to cooperate with the LAPD or the FBI!"

Studio security personnel rushed in to help separate the reporters and escorted Nicole to her car.

As the driver pulled away, the persistent paparazzi followed, several cars and motorcycles on their tail.

...

It had been a long time since Nicole had experienced this level of attention. In the past, she would have embraced it, but now all she felt was annoyance.

Andrea pulled out her phone, made a series of calls, and then grabbed her notebook to connect to the internet through a wireless card. She opened Twitter, where Nicole's news was at the top of the trending list.

Her first feeling after scanning through the news was that Nicole had indeed been involved.

Andrea realized why the pressure was on her to bring Nicole Kidman to St. Beatrice Church.

Nicole asked, "What's happening?"

Andrea handed her the notebook, calming down slightly, "There's news online saying you're entangled in Pat's case."

"That's nonsense!" Nicole quickly scrolled through the page, becoming increasingly alarmed.

Throughout the news piece, there was not a single image or quote linking her directly to the priest scandal; it merely reported her visiting St. Beatrice and the facts surrounding Pat Kingsley's involvement.

However, after reading it all, even she began to doubt her own innocence.

Nicole Kidman, who had been in the industry for over a decade, knew this was a troublesome situation.

The rumors exploded even without any outright lies being told.

Debunking them was going to be incredibly challenging.

Just then, Andrea's phone rang.

After answering and speaking cautiously, she hung up.

...

"Chanel called," Andrea said. "They want to know what's happening and hope you can clarify this quickly."

She took a deep breath, "Chanel has decided to suspend negotiations for your endorsement."

Nicole couldn't believe it. She had worked hard to secure the endorsement of Chanel No. 5.

"This is a defamation!" Nicole exclaimed as she quickly dialed Karl Lagerfeld's number.

Lagerfeld responded directly, "The audience for Chanel No. 5 is predominantly adult women, many of whom are mothers. They cannot accept a celebrity embroiled in a child sexual assault case, even as a suspect."

Nicole retorted, "I'm being falsely accused; I've been framed!"

Lagerfeld remained unmoved, "The public sentiment is against you, dear. You need to understand that the key here is not whether you did anything but whether the public believes you did."

With that, he hung up.

...

Fuming with anger, Nicole slammed her phone down onto the seat.

She turned to Andrea, "Notify CAA to schedule a press conference as soon as possible, and find a lawyer to send a letter to Twitter!"

"Got it," Andrea replied.

Before they had even left Burbank, Nicole received another call.

It was Tom Cruise, "It seems you're in some trouble. Do you need my help? Reach out if you need anything."

"You can go to hell!" Nicole coldly hung up on him.

...

Minutes later, she returned home to Sherman Oaks, where her lawyer soon arrived.

Having reviewed the published news on Twitter, the lawyer asked Nicole several questions.

After some thought, he said, "It's going to be tough to sue Twitter; their news reporting is intricately designed, avoiding legal pitfalls. Even if we pursue them, we're likely to get mired in endless disputes."

Nicole insisted, "I am absolutely certain that Hawke Osment and Tom Cruise are conspiring to frame me!"

The lawyer remained silent.

Though he must uphold professional ethics and stand by Nicole Kidman's position, after reading that piece, he sensed that Nicole Kidman was indeed guilty.

Of course he would not say these words to anyone.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.