CHAPTER 33: DINING WITH ACQUAINTANCES

{ClowneryCentral ✦ 5h ago

Bruh... remember how @ErisiaWrenford said "the next time you see me, there’ll be a topic worth talking about"?

Yeah... it came true. Just... almost at the cost of her life 💀💀 girl was nearly roadkill yesterday.}

~

@spicybubbles: WHAT?? She almost died??

@its_Mae_: no bc I was following that pool drama days ago... is this the same girl??

↳ @gossipsiren: yeah that’s her adopted Wrenford kid. Messy family saga.

@BlueJayLOL: damn, she manifested a "topic" and the universe said BET 💀

@NashTalks: I tapped on her profile and read everything! Ok but near-death??? Twice? receipts pls.

↳ @ClowneryCentral: vid’s floating around. blurry but you can see her being yanked back right before a car zooms past.

@silentteacup: internet always doing the MOST. Y’all realize that’s attempted murder, right?

⸻

{@RoweLuvr88 ✦ 4h ago

Y’all... since everyone’s confused, lemme lay this out.

I went through @ErisiaWrenford’s socials and here’s the tea:

That pool mess? Cloutzleakz made her look bad, but Veritas Vault footage shows Sierra staged it. Erisia actually tried to save her and nearly drowned.

Her IG clapback after? Iconic.

She’s stayed quiet since dropping a post saying something tells her it won’t be long till she starts trending again.

And now yesterday? She almost got run over. 👀 But guess who pulled her away? Cassian. OUR Cassian Rowe.

Personal take? Erisia doesn’t deserve the hate. Her family dogpiled her, the internet dragged her, and she still came out standing.

As for yesterday... let’s just say not everyone would be happy she’s still alive.}

~

@PuzzledAndScrolling: Is it the same Erisia Wrenford? 👀

↳ @ChocoLatteAddict: Wait wait wait, who tf is Erisia??

↳ @teaunlocked: Ok lemme spill—The Wrenfords are old money but like... mid. They’re nowhere near Ashborne Industries’ level. They own Wrenford Media Systems, a mid-tier tech co. They’ve got 2 daughters: Sierra (bio) and Erisia (adopted).

↳ @netizen_404: Wait, wasn’t Erisia the one who went missing as a toddler?

↳ @teaunlocked: Yesss. They "found" her months ago living in some rural area, brought her back, and no one knew about her until that birthday party for the Altheorns’ youngest daughter.

↳ @Sara_tashwithae: You mean the pool video?? 💀

↳ @teaunlocked: Exactly. A clip went up on CloutLeakz showing Erisia "pushing" Sierra into the pool. The Internet dragged her for filth. But then receipts dropped—CCTV footage hit Veritas Vault showing Sierra admitting she staged everything.

↳ @lurking_lama: Wait so... don’t tell me Sierra fell in by herself??

↳ @teaunlocked: Yup. Erisia even tried to save her and ended up in the pool too. But guess what? When people pulled Sierra out, they left Erisia there struggling. She got sick and landed in the hospital. 🤦 And here’s the wild part—my cousin was on shift that night when she got admitted, and not a single family member showed up. It was some random stranger who brought her in.

↳ @gossipgirl: Bruh, that’s messed up.

@gingercrisp: nah bc if my "family" left me drowning, I’d cut all ties fr.

↳ @lurking_lama: That’s real shitty. Even if she’s "only adopted," she’s still family. They shouldn’t be treating her like that 🙄

⸻

Erisia’s lips curled faintly as she settled onto the couch, scrolling through replies.

’Selena will have found out everything’s blown up... or maybe not. Sierra won’t want her to. But Leander? He’ll know. There are two people Sierra can’t control: her father and her brother.’

[ What do you plan to do? ]

’Destroy her. Completely. In the story, Lyra and Sierra are still friends, right? And they only fought later over something else?’

[ Yes. They’re still friends, but since Lyra’s busy with her music career, they haven’t seen each other since before the Altheorn party. Lyra only called after seeing the CloutLeakz post. ]

Erisia snickered. ’True friends, huh? Sierra never called her because she wasn’t in the mood to play sweet. Well... I’ll sever what’s left of their friendship myself. Then I’ll take the thing Sierra cares about most—the Wrenford family.’

Just then, Tyler returned and told her they could go. Erisia pocketed her phone, nodded, and followed him toward the exit.

On the way out, she asked, "Detective, have you seen the post about me?"

He shook his head, adjusting his tie. "No. I’ve been busy—I don’t have time to check my phone. Why? Are they saying unsavory things about you?"

Erisia chuckled softly. "No, nothing like that. They just dug up my background and some recent events that got a little traction online."

"I see. I’m sorry about that," Tyler said, his voice firm but sympathetic. "It’s expected, though. With this much attention on the incident, people will dig up information—or invent news themselves."

"It’s alright. No need to apologize. I expected it."

Just as they stepped onto the sidewalk, they came face-to-face with two people. One was unmistakable despite his disguise: Cassian Rowe, dressed in all black—pants, T-shirt, jacket, face mask, and a bucket hat pulled low. Beside him stood his manager, Beatrice Castillo.

Erisia’s brow arched in surprise as they stepped toward them. Tyler furrowed his brow, already halfway to greeting them, when Erisia voiced the question he clearly wanted to ask: "What are you doing here?"

Beatrice sighed, tilting her head toward Cassian. "He said he was worried and wanted to know the progress of things. I couldn’t let him come alone, so I followed. I also wanted to take the chance to ask Detective Tyler about the case."

Tyler nodded once. "Well, we were just heading out for lunch. Would you like to come with us?" His gaze lingered on Cassian. "Because I reckon standing on the sidewalk isn’t ideal for you, right?"

Cassian’s reply was brief. "You’re right. Lunch sounds better." Then, stepping closer to Erisia, he asked, "How are you? How and when did you get home yesterday? I called, but you didn’t pick up."

"I had my phone on silent," Erisia explained, her tone apologetic. "Sorry about that."

He shook his head. "Don’t be. I understand. After everything yesterday, you’d want some peace. I’m just glad you’re alright."

When they reached the car, Erisia slid into the passenger seat while Cassian and Beatrice took the back. Beatrice suggested a restaurant she knew—one with strict privacy rules for its customers. "Better safe than sorry," she added, noting the risks of Cassian being spotted mid-filming. She offered to cover the bill, and Tyler agreed.

Despite the seating arrangement, Cassian still found ways to engage Erisia in conversation. He spoke eagerly about his music career, his favorite genres, the movie he was currently filming, and even stories about his colleagues. Erisia hadn’t asked, but he told her everything, animated and unguarded. Because it was about acting and film, she found herself interested enough to respond, her questions drawing him out further. Each answer seemed to fuel him.

Beatrice cut in from time to time, but it didn’t deter Cassian. He pressed on, his attention fixed on Erisia. Up front, Tyler kept smiling faintly, shaking his head at their exchanges. Erisia noticed more than once, though she said nothing.