The Influencer: A Completely Diabolical Psychological Suspense (The Influencer Series)

by Adriane Leigh

Innocence, Once Lost, Can Never Be Regained. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon, Can Never Be Lost. -John Milton

Being chic and fabulous is my brand, even if it isn’t exactly true-to-life.

Social media presents the perfect opportunity to live the life you’ve always dreamed of, at least in the eyes of the ones who matter. To them, Mia Starr has everything. In real life, Shae Halston is a struggling train wreck with enough family baggage to fill a jetliner and more debt than a developing nation.

Mia Starr is a brand, not a person. She’s a facade, and I’m not even the face.

The wild inconsistency between the perfection of Hollywood and the dilapidation of El Segundo, with its crumbling sidewalks and rusted street signs, is like a metaphor for my life. Like a persistent weed growing between the cement slabs of the boulevard, I refuse to be snuffed out. Talent and charm have gotten me this far, but only dogged determination will take me further.

That’s the thing about social media. You can be whoever you want with a little extra filtering and some motivation.

And suddenly, years of love are forgotten in the hatred of a single moment.

Dean has been cheating on me with my doppelgänger. My online persona. He’s fallen for the pretend me.