"Beatrice… I never imagined you would rise so high."
His companion, Scarlett Sinclair, might as well have been invisible to him at that moment.
Watching this dramatic scene unfold and listening to all the hollow praise, I felt only growing irony and boredom deep inside.
Just then, a sharp, bitter voice cut through the air, filled with resentment and malice.
It was Madeline Lancaster again.
"Hmph. So what if you've become a big director now? Beatrice, everyone in this industry knows your parents are nothing but leeches. Remember the mess they made years ago? They embarrassed the whole production team. Now that you've made it big, do you really think they will leave you alone? They probably already smelled the money and are on their way to finding you!
"No matter how much you earn, it
