TABLOID INTRO
TMZ
MYSTERY MAN SPOTTED MEETING ROMAN HELTON AT PRIVATE HOTEL — WHO IS HE?
The actress was photographed entering the Beverly Wilshire through a side entrance yesterday. A man—late 20s, rough around the edges, definitely not industry—met her in the lobby. They went upstairs. She emerged 47 minutes later looking shaken. Khalid was NOT with her. Who is this guy?
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Radar Online
ROMAN HELTON'S SECRET PAST CATCHES UP WITH HER?
Sources say the actress has been "increasingly paranoid" in recent weeks. She keeps looking over her shoulder. She's jumpy. And yesterday, a mysterious man appeared demanding to speak with her. Friends say this isn't the first time he's contacted her. Is Roman being blackmailed?
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Blind Gossip
Which A-list actress is being threatened by someone from her past? Friends say she's been having panic attacks. She won't say who the man is or what he wants. But the fear is real.
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NARRATIVE
Gary calls on a Tuesday.
Roman sees the name on her phone and her entire body goes cold.
She hasn't heard from him in six years.
Six years since that night. Six years since they ran. Six years since she thought she'd buried it all.
She answers.
"Roman." His voice is the same. Casual. Like they're old friends. "Been a while."
"What do you want?"
"To talk. Face to face."
"No."
"It wasn't a request." Pause. "Beverly Wilshire. Suite 2847. Three PM tomorrow."
"I'm not—"
"You'll come. Or I make a phone call you really don't want me to make."
He hangs up.
She stares at her phone for ten minutes.
Then she calls Khalid.
"I need to tell you something."
---
She doesn't tell him. Not yet.
Just says she has a meeting. Someone from her past. Nothing to worry about.
He doesn't believe her but he doesn't push.
"Do you want me to come?"
"No."
"Roman—"
"I need to handle this alone."
"Okay." His voice is tight. "Call me after."
---
Gary looks exactly the same.
Same scar on his eyebrow. Same tattoos on his knuckles. Same smile that used to make her feel brave and now just makes her feel sick.
He's in the hotel suite like he owns it. Sprawled on the couch. Smoking even though it's non-smoking.
"You look good," he says when she walks in. "Money agrees with you."
She stays by the door. "What do you want?"
"Straight to business. I like it." He stands. Crosses to her. She doesn't move back but she wants to. "I want two things. Two million dollars. And you."
"No."
"No to which part?"
"Both."
He laughs. "You don't have a choice, Roman. You know what I know. You know what happens if I make a phone call."
"You were there too."
"I was. And then I kept my mouth shut for six years while you became famous. While you made millions. While you forgot about people like me." He's close now. Too close. "But I didn't forget about you."
"I'm with someone."
"The prince. I know. Cute." He reaches out, touches her face. She jerks away. "But he doesn't know, does he? Doesn't know what you did. What we did."
"Get away from me."
"Two million, Roman. And you leave him. Come back to me. That's the deal."
She pulls out her phone.
"Who are you calling?"
"Khalid."
"Bad idea—"
She's already dialing.
He answers on the first ring. "Are you okay?"
"No." Her voice is shaking. "I need you. Beverly Wilshire. Suite 2847."
"I'm on my way."
---
Khalid arrives in eighteen minutes.
Must have broken every traffic law. Must have driven like a man possessed.
He walks into the suite and his eyes go immediately to Roman. She's on the far side of the room. Shaking.
Then his eyes go to Gary.
"You must be the boyfriend," Gary says. He's still on the couch. Still casual.
Khalid doesn't answer. Just looks at Roman. "Tell me."
She can't. The words won't come.
"Roman. Tell me."
"We were running drugs," she says finally. Voice barely above a whisper. "Six years ago. I was fourteen. Gary was eighteen. We were couriers. Moving product for people we owed money to."
Khalid's expression doesn't change. Just waits.
"There was a drop. A guy showed up. Wrong guy. Rival crew." She's shaking harder now. "There was a fight. He was on top of Gary. I had a knife. I—"
She can't finish.
"You stabbed him," Khalid says. Not a question.
"Yes."
"And he died."
"Eventually. We ran. By the time anyone found him it was hours later."
"And no one connected it to you."
"No. Gary wiped the knife. There were no witnesses. No cameras. We just—disappeared."
Khalid is very still. Then he turns to Gary. "And now you're blackmailing her."
"I'm asking for what I'm owed. Two million. And her."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I said no." Khalid pulls out his phone. "I'm calling my lawyer. You're leaving Los Angeles tonight. If you ever contact her again, if you ever come near her again, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison."
Gary laughs. "You can't—"
"I can." Khalid's voice is ice. "I have more money than you can imagine. More connections than you know exist. I can make you disappear. Legally or otherwise."
The laugh dies.
"You're bluffing."
"I'm not." Khalid starts dialing. "You have two options. Leave voluntarily. Or I make you leave. Your choice."
Gary looks at Roman. Then back at Khalid. Trying to calculate if this is real.
It's real.
"Fine," he says finally. "I'll leave."
"Tonight."
"Tonight."
"And if you ever contact her again—"
"I won't."
Khalid finishes dialing. "Yes. I need my attorney at the Beverly Wilshire. Suite 2847. Immediately." He hangs up. Looks at Gary. "He'll make sure you actually leave. And he'll make sure you understand what happens if you don't."
Gary grabs his jacket. Heads for the door. Stops.
"You know what the worst part is?" He looks at Roman. "You killed someone. Stabbed a man and walked away. And he—" gestures at Khalid "—he doesn't even care."
"I care," Khalid says quietly. "I care that she was protecting you. I care that she was fourteen and scared. I care that she's been carrying this alone for six years. What I don't care about is you."
Gary leaves.
The door closes.
Roman sits down hard on the couch.
Khalid sits next to her. Doesn't touch her. Just sits there.
"You killed someone," he says finally.
"Yes."
"In self-defense."
"He was going to kill Gary."
"Then you did what you had to do."
"You don't—" Her voice breaks. "You don't understand. I killed someone. Stabbed him. Watched him bleed. And then I ran."
"I understand perfectly." He takes her hand. "You survived. That's what matters."
"How can you—" She looks at him. "How can you be okay with this?"
"Because I love you. Because if I had been there, I would have done the same thing. I would have killed him myself." He pauses. "Because you're not a bad person. You were a scared kid who did what she had to do to survive."
"Your lawyer—"
"Will make sure Gary leaves. Will make sure he never comes back."
"What if he tells someone?"
"He won't. My lawyer will make sure of that."
"How?"
Khalid doesn't answer.
She understands. "You're going to make him disappear."
"If necessary."
"Khalid—"
"You think I won't?" He looks at her. Actually looks at her. "You think I won't break laws for you? You think there's a line I won't cross?"
"There should be."
"There isn't." He pulls her close. "There is nothing I won't do for you. Nothing. Legal or not. Moral or not. If it keeps you safe, I'll do it."
She should be scared. Should be horrified.
Instead she feels—
Safe.
For the first time in six years, she feels safe.
Because he knows. He knows the worst thing she's ever done. And he's staying.
More than staying. He's protecting her. He's making Gary disappear. He's breaking laws for her.
"I love you," she says.
"I know."
"No, I mean—" She presses closer. "I love you in a way that's probably unhealthy. In a way that means I would have let Gary take the money and take me if it meant you were safe."
"I know that too." He kisses her forehead. "But you don't have to. Because I'm handling it."
"By making him disappear."
"If that's what it takes."
She's quiet for a long moment. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not leaving. For not being horrified. For—" She gestures vaguely. "For being willing to commit crimes for me."
"Always."
---
Two days later, Gary is gone.
Actually gone. Left the city. Khalid's lawyer confirmed it.
"He won't be back," Khalid says.
"How do you know?"
"Because we came to an understanding."
"What kind of understanding?"
"The kind where he understands what happens if he ever contacts you again."
She doesn't ask for details.
She doesn't want to know.
---
TABLOID OUTRO
E! News
WHO WAS THE MYSTERY MAN? ROMAN HELTON'S SECRET MEETING EXPLAINED
Sources say the man was "someone from her past" who was making threats. Prince Khalid arrived within minutes and "handled the situation." The man left Los Angeles immediately after. What did Khalid do?
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Page Six
KHALID'S POWER MOVE: MAKING ROMAN'S PROBLEM DISAPPEAR
The prince's legal team was spotted at the Beverly Wilshire shortly after the mysterious meeting. Whatever the threat was, Khalid made sure it was resolved. Fast. Is there anything he won't do for her?
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Lainey Gossip
Roman's mysterious meeting at the Beverly Wilshire ended with Khalid's lawyers and a man fleeing the city. Whatever Roman was being threatened with, Khalid made it go away. This isn't romance—this is power. And it's terrifying.
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Deuxmoi (blind item)
A-list actress was being blackmailed by someone from her past. Royal boyfriend showed up, called his lawyers, made the problem disappear. Literally. Anon says the guy left the state within 24 hours and no one has heard from him since. What did the prince do? 👀
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Blind Gossip
Update on that actress being threatened: The man left town. Voluntarily, supposedly. But sources say the prince's legal team was involved and the threat is "permanently resolved." Make of that what you will.