Emily just stood there, her eyes cool as she watched Adela. When she saw the jealousy and scheming hiding in Adela's eyes, a terrible idea took hold. Adela actually hated her. But why? Was it about fame, about status, or... was it about Kenneth? Did Adela like Kenneth, too?

As Emily tried to untangle her thoughts, a familiar voice called out from behind her.

"If it's that hard for you, you don't have to pretend."

She spun around and spotted a slim girl leaning against the wall, completely at ease. Charlotte's face was half-hidden behind a mask. She wore a long black trench coat with matching pants that had high slits, and a pair of comfortable sneakers. The whole look gave her an intimidating aura, like she owned the place.

The second Emily saw her, her eyes lit up. She almost called out, but remembered herself and quickly switched, “J, you're here?"

J? Adela turned to look, momentarily caught off guard. She'd been at the last contract signing at the TV station, but she hadn't seen J in person. She hadn't expected J to be even more striking than she looked on TV.

"Yeah.” Charlotte nodded, came over to Emily, and gently pinched her cheek. “Hang on a sec."

Then Charlotte looked over at Adela, and the smile in her eyes vanished. Her mood shifted in an instant.

"Adela, just now you said taking the second female lead felt beneath you, wasn't it?"

Adela froze as she met Charlotte's icy stare. For a moment, she tried to play it cool. "Well, this whole thing-"

"Then don't do it," Charlotte interrupted, her voice sharp and clear. Adela didn't even get a chance to put on any of her usual airs.

"What? Did I hear that right?" Adela blinked, caught off guard as sarcasm flickered in her eyes.

"J, sure, *Storm* is your creation. But the rights are already with someone else." Adela tilted her chin up, lips curling in a smirk, acting like Charlotte didn't matter at all. "You don't get to decide who acts Not even Apex Mediaworks calls the shots-everything goes through the investors."

Without investors, even the biggest franchise is just a bunch of wasted paper in the end. And who did Charlotte think she was, acting like she got to say who stayed and who left? The nerve.

"How can you talk to her like that?" Emily snapped, fixing Adela with a cold glare.

"I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking." Adela tucked a stray hair behind her ear batting her lashes and grinning. "J's just the origin author. She doesn't get a real say in casting. Unless..." 'FindNovel.net

“Unless what?” Charlotte took Emily's hand and gently pulled her to her side, her eyes telling her not to worry.

"Unless J somehow becomes an

investor herself," Adela replied

sweetly, her voice dripping with fake

innocence. "But that price tag isn't smallshe'd have to

up more

than Story Venture's three hundred

million."

FindNovel.net

Adela figured J was rich, but who could just come up with three hundred million, just like that?

"StoryVenture is the biggest investment firm in the country. Projects they back never

fail."

Charlotte smiled, lifting her gaze, calm and almost teasing. "There's a first time for everything. They're about to."

"What did you say?” Adela's fake smile faltered. For a second, she wondered if she'd heard wrong.

Was J really saying that StoryVenture was going to lose, just this once?