Maybe the DNA wasn’t a match for Harlow Hayes because the Harlow they got the DNA sample fromwasn’tactually Harlow—the one that was with Colton and Jade that night, at least.
No, absolutely no way,she chides herself again.Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a reporter for a major outlet. Not an online armchair conspiracy theorist.
But is it really that implausible?a voice questions.
Naomi has walked around LA before. Seen how similar so many of the “aspiring actresses” look. Hasn’t she herself said that Harlow now has an “LA face”?
Then there are all the competition shows, where so many unknown singers showcase vocals better than best-selling artists. Naomi recalls various times where she pretended she was a coach onThe Voice, closing her eyes before a contestant started singing, only to be positive they were the original artist pranking the panel. But no, they just sounded nearly identical to the star. In fact, judges of these shows often complain how difficult it is to find contestants who sound unique.
Is it really so wild to think someone who looks like Harlow could sound like her as well?Naomi wonders.There are countless fans out there spending every waking minute trying to look like her and sing like her. Is it really so far-fetched to think that someone achieved it? Not a robot or a clone, but an imposter…
Heart racing, Naomi’s eyes dart from one clue to another as it all falls into place. It’s as if each piece of relevant evidence is lighting up in her head, like she’s John Nash inA Beautiful Mind.
She’s on the cusp of a huge breakthrough; she can feel it.
Chapter 34
Naomi lets out a long exhale, shaking as she tries to keep focus. Pieces of information, pictures, lyrics, videos—so many things—race through her mind as she grapples with her new theory.
She swallows, trying to ignore the burn at the back of her throat, and studies the section of the wall that denotes when Harlow seemed to change in style, personality, and behavior. It all happened after Jade died. On the left-hand side, or before Jade’s death, Harlow is described as being depressed but nice, while on the right, or after Jade’s death, Harlow is described as being cold-hearted and rude.
Naomi bites her lips as she frantically scans the wall again, noting the other changes, like the complete reinvention of Harlow’s image in 2022. She thinks of all the other pop stars that majorly reinvented themselves at one point—everyone from Taylor Swift, with her groundbreakingreputationcomeback, to Miley Cyrus’ shock transformation from Hannah Montana to her “Wrecking Ball” phase. Even Christina Aguilera did it in the early 2000s. And then, of course, Naomi’s favorite, the transformation of Lizzy Grant into the iconic Lana Del Rey. So Harlow reinventing her image doesn’t prove someone else took over. But… dying her hair and changing her image would be a genius way to cover up the fact that she isn’t the real Harlow. It would certainly explain the change in sound too. The imposter would have a different voice, different lyrics, and a different musical style—albeit similar enough for it to be believable.
Naomi slams the enter key on her laptop, impatiently waiting for it to wake up. Once she opens Chrome, she searches for celebrity body doubles. She scans through all of the results, learning it’s not as uncommon as one would think.
It turns out management companies use body doubles often, kind of like how actors use stunt doubles, to fill in for certain things like promos and meet-and-greets. Naomi even learns that Miley Cyrus briefly used a body double for a small part on her “Best of Both Worlds” tour. After a fan recorded Miley sneaking through a trap door while someone else dressed as her Hannah Montana alter ego continued to perform, management had to come forward and admit the truth. Of course, Miley was playing two characters, so the situation was understandable. But the most notorious pop star body double-related theory out there is about Avril Lavigne, who tons of true crime enthusiasts believe died and has been covertly replaced by her body double, Melissa.
When Harlow reinvented herself for the launch ofApotheosis, the album was all about revenge and other dark themes, and whileLegacywas similar, it also had other themes running through it. Rebirth, immortality, and remorse. Naomi scans the various excerpts of lyrics stuck to the wall and on the table next to her, landing on “Garden of Bones.”
A garden of bones, watered by tears. Blood-soaked soil, saturated with fear. No one knows I laid her here. Alongside a part of me buried here for years.
Naomi exhales a shaky breath as the words take on a brand-new meaning.
In the “Garden of Bones” music video, Harlow is pictured burying herself. And while Naomi used to think it was all metaphoric, now she wonders if it was Imposter Harlow reenacting burying the real Harlow. Then there’s the music video for “Cruel Delights” where Harlow is wearing an orange jumpsuit and dancing behind a cage. Was she hinting she should be in jail for what she did?
Naomi removes the header above the red string and replaces it with “Imposter Replaces/Kills Harlow!” and “Addia S. Howler Anagram for HARLOW IS DEAD.” Then she takes a step back, stopping to think about the implications of it all.
She thinks of the Avril conspiracy theory, how management was rumored to be behind it. She tenses as an uneasiness washes over her. Sam Brixton recognizing her at the funeral. Then the Toyota following her. The man on the subway. Joel mentioning how angry Sam was and to back off…
Did Sam want to make sure no one found out about Harlow’s replacement? And he knew if any reporter would go digging, it would be Naomi, since her sister was a victim in all of this?
Nausea ripples through her as she considers how big a cover-up this could be. She can’t stop digging, though, not when everything is finally starting to fall into place. Not when she’s finally figured out that Harlow Hayes was replaced by an imposter at some point after her third album.
This can’t be real.
This can’t be real.
This is crazy.
But what if…
Naomi freezes, a thought occurring to her.
Could this be the blackmail Colton was holding over Harlow—fake Harlow? That he knew she was an imposter?
Naomi never thought it made sense for Harlow to kill him so long after he killed Jade. It was one of the major holes in her latest theory that Harlow witnessed Colton kill Jade and felt guilty about covering it up. But with this theory, killing Colton when she did makes all the sense in the world. He was going to reveal her secret and she couldn’t have that happen.
Bingo, she thinks, adrenaline gushing through her like electricity.Got ya, bitch.
