My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 304

As soon as Isabella Austin’s post went live, her fans’ outrage exploded all over again. The trending topics surged back to the top, and the internet was in an uproar.

“Isabella Austin Depression” shot to number two on the trending list, right alongside tags like “Protect Isabella Austin,” “Isabella Austin Self-Harm,” and “Isabella Austin Emily Blair.”

Her fans flooded the comments under her post and the trending hashtags, pleading with people to stop the online harassment, urging compassion for Isabella, and calling for more awareness around mental health.

“Sweetheart, is it depression? Please take care of yourself and stay offline for a while. We’ll stand up for you.”

“Oh my God, what’s happened to you? Please don’t waste your energy on people who don’t deserve it. We care about you, we love you, and we’ll always be here waiting!”

“Isabella, can we promise not to join the Starlight Piano Competition anymore? That contest isn’t good enough for you. You deserve a bigger stage and a better trophy. Forget about those meaningless contests—take care of yourself first. We’ll always support you, no matter what.”

“Don’t worry about the haters, darling. Let us do the fighting—you just focus on your music and your peace of mind.”

Once the “Isabella Austin Depression” tag hit the trending charts, public opinion completely flipped. Anyone who’d doubted Isabella before was now being hounded by her fans and by internet onlookers, forced to delete their posts or issue public apologies.

The media and influencer accounts jumped on the bandwagon, pushing the topic to a fever pitch.

Isabella had picked her timing perfectly. The official Starlight Piano Competition account had just announced that Emily Blair was voluntarily giving up her champion’s trophy when Isabella posted her message. The two incidents landed one after the other, making it impossible for people not to connect the dots.

“Are you ever going to apologize? Apologize to Isabella Austin! Apologize to Isabella Austin! Apologize to Isabella Austin! You drove her into depression and can’t even say sorry? Are you really that arrogant?”

Some comments spiraled into wild rumors, accusing Emily Blair of having inappropriate relationships with event staff and even a married executive. People claimed to know exactly which hotel and which room they supposedly met in, spinning elaborate stories that, somehow, plenty of readers believed.

“Wait, isn’t Emily Blair still in high school? Would she really do something like that?”

“I saw it with my own eyes! Why do you think she wouldn’t? She’s not your average high schooler. I literally saw her throw herself at that executive—if he hadn’t stopped her, she’d have stripped right there in front of everyone. Later, he led her to his room, and they didn’t come out all night. Next morning, people saw them walk out hand in hand.”