Though Elliana had anticipated such plots, appreciation softened her features. “Thank you for the warning. Let’s go.”
With swift determination, Elliana gripped her suitcase handle and strode toward the waiting bus.
Hailee hesitated briefly before falling into step behind her.
After stowing their luggage, the two boarded the vehicle and materialized back into the live broadcast.
The bus doors sealed shut with finality, and the journey to Ublento Art Museum commenced.
Tension permeated the vehicle’s interior while the live chat spiraled into chaos-comments veering wildly off-topic, completely derailing the show’s intended trajectory.
No one had foreseen such immediate complications. Paige’s expected dominance over Elliana had reversed into repeated failures, and Vivien, meant to be her accomplice, had foolishly been whisked out of the scene.
The livestream couldn’t afford dead air-enthusiasm needed maintaining, or viewers would abandon the broadcast in droves.
Since Paige and Raylan still needed to perform their melancholy scene over Vivien’s injuries, Haley couldn’t ask them to enliven the atmosphere now, forcing her attention elsewhere. Her gaze landed on Kent first. “Kent, why not entertain everyone with a song?”
Haley surmised that Kent, playing a key role in Paige’s love triangle, seemed the perfect choice. A love ballad dedicated to Paige could elevate the broadcast’s mood while refocusing attention where it belonged.
Yet, the moment the suggestion left Haley’s lips, Kent’s eyes blazed with horrified disbelief.
Internally, Kent unleashed a stream of curses. What incompetent producer had the show hired? Didn’t they know about his tonedeafness?
Haley missed his silent panic entirely. “Just perform your hit single, ‘Irresistible Charm.’”
Kent teetered on the edge of a meltdown. That “hit” belonged to another singer entirely-released under his name after his ascent to fame, purely for profit. His celebrity status was built on fabrication, every performance merely elaborate lip-syncing. The prospect of singing live before countless viewers spelled certain catastrophe.
Oblivious to his distress, Haley beamed with satisfaction and instructed the crew, “Cue Kent’s music.”
Though desperate to verbally eviscerate Haley, Kent found himself trapped as the music began. With no escape, he cleared his throat and braced himself.
Just as the introduction neared its end, Kent seized a water bottle, and the moment his cue arrived, he erupted into violent coughing. The hacking fit nearly turned him inside out.
Anticipation dissolved into disappointment as viewers flooded the chat with dissatisfied comments.
After coughing until crimson stained his cheeks, Kent raised apologetic eyes. “Sorry, I don’t think singing is possible for me today.”
A sardonic smirk curved Elliana’s lips. What a spectacular disaster of a performance… Just then, her phone vibrated against her hip. A message from Matthew illuminated the screen. “Lexi, I’ve forwarded Luciano’s complete itinerary from the past forty-eight hours in the attached file.”
Elliana opened it to discover confirmation of Luciano’s visit to Merritt’s exclusive club.
Matthew continued, “Lexi, we’ve secured surveillance footage from Luciano’s other destinations, but Merritt’s club remains impenetrable. Their cybersecurity exceeds our capabilities.”
“I’ll handle this personally,” Elliana replied.
With the other guests deliberately shunning her and Hailee momentarily called away, Elliana made use of the isolation to infiltrate Merritt’s network through her smartphone. Using Matthew’s timeline, she swiftly located footage of Luciano’s meeting with Merritt-Paige conspicuously present.
In the footage, Merritt admired a canvas before him with evident satisfaction. “My sincere gratitude, Mr. Scott, for delivering this painting personally.”
In response, Luciano’s smile dripped with obsequiousness. “Serving you is my greatest honor. This represents my finest work yet. With Miss Jones’ name attached, victory at the Starry Oil Painting Competition is assured.”
Nearby, Paige blossomed with delight as she extended a substantial check toward Luciano. “I appreciate your work, Mr. Scott. I anticipate our continued collaboration.”
Elliana downloaded the damning evidence, meticulously erased her digital footprints, and exited the system.
At this time, the bus rolled to a stop at the Ublento Art Museum, where Luciano awaited, dressed in artistic finery and surrounded by an admiring crowd.
Paige, who had maintained her facade of melancholy throughout the journey, suddenly illuminated with excitement and rose eagerly.
As passengers disembarked, Paige deliberately lingered behind. Once beyond the camera’s reach, she seized Elliana’s wrist with surprising force.
Elliana regarded her with unruffled composure. “What do you want?”
Paige arched her eyebrows, undisguised arrogance saturating her expression. “Elliana, I have a few words for you…”
“Elliana, don’t mistake your temporary victories for lasting triumph,” Paige hissed. “You stole my rightful marriage, dragged my name through the mud, destroyed my engagement celebration, and disrupted the launch of this show-yet you cannot stop my rise. Watch closely as I soar to stardom while you remain nothing more than a forgotten stepping stone beneath my feet. When I stand bathed in adoration’s spotlight, you’ll be left writhing as the internet’s favorite mockery. Let’s see whom Cole chooses when the dust settles!”
Venom and ice crystallized in Paige’s glare, revealing the deep resentment she refused to let go of.
Elliana’s soft laughter floated between them as she recognized Paige’s lingering obsession with Cole. This elaborate production-carried out with Merritt’s considerable influence-was nothing more than an attempt to rehabilitate Paige’s tarnished image and recapture Cole’s attention. Raylan was nothing but a convenient distraction, a human shield against Paige’s scandals. How tragically pitiful. Years spent meticulously crafting her facade as Ublento’s premier socialite, desperately accumulating accolades-all to marry Cole. Such hollow ambition.
Elliana’s half-smile cut like glass. “I’ll be watching closely-as you remain blinded by others’ brilliance, struggling to escape the judgment you’ve earned.”
“You!” Fury drained the color from Paige’s face, but fear of being exposed forced her rage to retreat underground. “What gives you the right to speak to me this way?” she seethed. “Remember why you joined this show-to uncover the truth about that fire. Provoke me further, and those answers will vanish forever.”
Elliana’s derisive scoff sliced through Paige’s threats. “Oh, please, don’t make me laugh. It’s not like we just met yesterday. Why would I trust anything slithering from your lips?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.