The Thorne Heiress Unveiling Shadow novel Chapter 23

The aftermath of Diana Vreeland's pronouncement was not an explosion, but a series of quiet, deadly clicks. The sound of dozens of phones being raised, of cameras discreetly recording, of fingers flying across screens. The high society of New York was a pack of well-dressed wolves, and they had just been thrown a piece of fresh, bleeding meat.

Before Aria could even process what had happened, the scene was already going viral. A video, shot by the socialite who had smirked at Evelyn's earlier comment, was the first to hit Instagram. It was shaky, but the audio was crystal clear: Diana Vreeland's voice, coolly dissecting Aria's dress as a "well-made superfake."

The caption was simple and brutal: "The Queen of Vogue has spoken. So much for 'one-of-a-kind.' 😬 #FoundationBall #SuttonSuperfake"

The hashtag was born. #SuttonSuperfake.

Within minutes, it was trending on Twitter. The initial video was shared, reposted, and re-edited with crying-laughing emojis. Memes began to appear: a picture of Aria's dress next to a rhinestone-covered phone case with the caption "Who wore it better?" Another showed a Barbie doll in a glittery outfit with the text "Aria Sutton's next red carpet look." A particularly vicious one photoshopped Aria's face onto a Canal Street vendor selling knockoff handbags. The internet, in its collective, anonymous cruelty, showed no mercy.

All of Aria's carefully curated pre-ball posts, the ones that had garnered so much praise just an hour earlier, were now flooded with a tidal wave of mockery.

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