When the whole thing first blew up, Faaris had gotten word right away. But at the time, he assumed that some incredibly well-connected journalist had gotten wind of their scheme and exposed it early. He thought it was even better this way—having the story uncovered by the media would come across as more natural than if they had tried to force the scandal out themselves.
And things played out just as they had hoped. People quickly came to believe that Laila had faked the box office numbers, accusing her of using illegal methods just to make her film the highest-grossing in cinematic history.
Watching the online backlash unfold filled Faaris with delight. Every time he saw netizens attacking Laila, blaming and cursing her, he'd clink glasses with an equally giddy Cooper, sipping wine to celebrate what they believed was a crushing victory.
He planned to wait until the scandal cooled down a bit before releasing the full trove of dirt they'd prepared. He wanted to crush Laila completely—wipe her off the map, make sure she'd never recover. It wasn't just about revenge for the shame she'd caused him; it was also for avenging Mr. Dawood.
But the consequence of indulging in a few too many celebratory drinks was that both he and Cooper ended up drunk—and Faaris, in a rare occurrence, slept soundly all the way until morning. During that time, his subordinates couldn't reach him and had no way to report the latest developments.
So, when he woke up groggy and hungover, the first news he heard was that the situation had flipped—Laila had not only turned the tables but completely cleared her name. It was so far outside anything he had calculated that it left him stunned.
He didn't need anyone to tell him how shocking the reversal was. Who could've imagined that something so damning, seemingly impossible to refute, could be undone in just one night? Even after hearing a detailed report from his subordinates—explaining that the counterattack had originated from the distant East—he still couldn't believe it.
Did the gods really protect her? How else could she have pulled off such a miraculous comeback from the brink?
No!
He was the chosen one!
He was the true favorite of the gods!
Hadn't Mr. Dawood picked him out of all those people? That alone proved he was destined to win—he was the one who would have the last laugh!
That's right! That was the truth! The only reason things went wrong—no, he hadn't made a mistake—it was just that he'd foolishly trusted the idiotic suggestions of some useless subordinate!
Faaris would never admit he was wrong. Not before, and not this time either.
So Cooper became his scapegoat—the target of his rage and frustration. But just as he was preparing to drag the man in to face his fury and pay for the losses, he was told that Cooper had fled the country with his entire family during the night.
Cooper had run.
And honestly, could you blame him?
Last time, he'd been saddled with a $100 million debt. Who knew what Faaris might do this time—maybe even throw the whole family into the ocean?
He had already sent the kids abroad the moment he began to suspect Faaris couldn't be trusted. After all, not even that man could extend his reach across national borders, right? As for himself and his wife, they didn't even bother to tidy up the house. They grabbed all their valuables, booked the next flight out of the U.S., and disappeared.
He was lucky. If he hadn't gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, he never would've checked his phone and seen the latest updates on Laila's situation.
Upon realizing public opinion had taken a sharp turn and Laila had successfully cleared her name, he immediately yanked his wife out of bed. They gathered their belongings in a rush and fled into the night. On the plane, he didn't even have the energy to comfort his panicked wife—he was too busy trying to figure out how everything had gone so wrong.
He knew exactly how destructive the scandal would've been if it had succeeded. It wouldn't have just taken Laila down—half of Hollywood would've been dragged into the storm. Yet somehow, overnight, it had all flipped on its head. No matter how he tried to rationalize it, it was just too surreal.
At first, just like Faaris, he had assumed the story had been leaked by some cunning journalist. They were even pleased by it at the time and followed the links to the article, enjoying the moment.
The report was detailed, listing figures and documents. They didn't know if those were authentic, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the public believed it—that people genuinely thought Laila had tampered with box office numbers to claim a record.
And once people believed it, all they had to do was follow up with "realer" fake evidence online. Who would ever think Laila could bounce back after that?
No one could've predicted the sudden reversal. Not even Laila herself. To make sure the crisis ended as quickly as possible and didn't affect the next day's box office, she had originally arranged for one of her own people to play the role of the brilliant whistleblower.
But in an unexpected twist of fate, the story had traveled East, been noticed over there first, and ended up going viral on a major news portal site. Then, the American journalists stationed in the East picked it up and brought it back stateside.
At the time, Laila was resting. The team assigned to handle the crisis was all awake and ready to act on her orders at any moment—ready to pounce when the time was right and stage the greatest cinematic PR turnaround in history. But before they could make a move, public opinion had already shifted in their favor, all on its own.
It was like a relay race, where the final runner is standing tall and fired up, waiting for the baton—only to discover their teammates had already dashed past the finish line in a blur of motion.
What could they do? They felt just as wronged.
They'd pulled an all-nighter for nothing, and now they had to waste their morning trying to explain to the boss why they didn't follow her instructions.
But honestly, there was no need for them to worry. Given how the situation had played out, how could Laila possibly blame them? By that point, the tide had turned overwhelmingly in her favor. Any more effort from their side might've just overcomplicated things.
That summer, the box office was completely dominated by The Avengers. Week one, week two, week three... it swept every weekly box office title without contest.
While the competing films could only groan in frustration, The Avengers marched forward with unstoppable momentum—crushing every record set by Avatar the year before.
What's more, it wasn't just North American ticket sales making headlines. Overseas markets brought in equally staggering numbers. In particular, the East—already dubbed the number one box office region in Asia—displayed explosive potential that even Hollywood's top brass couldn't ignore.
In just a few years, the Eastern market would even become capable of saving flops from financial ruin. At this point in time, North America still held the biggest slice of the pie. But in the near future, some films would owe their very survival—and even sequels—to the strength of the Eastern box office.