The Regretful CEO's Comeback

Chapter 5

The next morning, Elodie went to the law firm first. She spoke with the lawyer about the car accident compensation and handed over all the follow-up matters. After that, she headed to the hospital to pay for Beatrice's medication and tests.

She hadn't been there long when her phone rang. Someone from the office told her to get back immediately. Said it was urgent.

The conference room was a little over 20 square meters. A dozen or so people sat crammed inside, nearly all of them senior executives at Novae Pictures. Every face was grim. The atmosphere had gone thick and deathly still.

Alistair Crowe was seething. The moment Elodie walked in, he looked ready to scream in her face.

"Elodie, what the hell is going on? You were the one handling the Halston Group investment. You tell me why they suddenly pulled out!"

"Halston Group pulled out?" Elodie was completely lost. "I didn't know."

"You didn't know? Then do you know how much we stand to lose because of this? The cast and crew contracts are practically signed. We're days away from starting production. One 'I didn't know' doesn't explain anything!"

Alistair's voice rattled the walls. No one else in the room dared to breathe.

This drama was one of the hottest properties on the market right now. They had signed Milo Lennox, a rising star with both the looks and the acting chops, plus a roster of veteran heavyweights.

Alistair's fury kept boiling over. "You know how much this company has riding on this project! Don't think that just because you got in here through Sienna, you can ignore the company's bottom line. You screw up, I'll have you out the door any time I feel like it!"

Under the barrage of rage and accusation, Elodie was being unfairly blamed.

When it rained, it poured. That was probably the only way to describe her life right now.

She didn't offer any defense. She just pressed her lips together and said, "I'll handle it. You can rest assured."

Alistair snorted. "You'll handle it. How?"

"I have my ways." Her brow was set. Her voice came out firm. "Either way, I won't delay the original production schedule."

"Fine. Since you're so confident, I'll give you three days. If this isn't resolved in three days, you can deal with the consequences yourself!" He dropped the ultimatum and waved his hand. "Meeting adjourned."

The executives filed out one by one. Elodie was the last to leave.

She could not, no matter how she turned it over in her mind, understand why Halston Group would suddenly pull their investment without any warning.

She dialed the Halston Group contact. She called once. Then again. Finally, he picked up.

The voice on the other end was thick with impatience. "Elodie, if you're calling about the pulled investment, save your breath. You offended someone. Don't you even know that? Don't call this number again."

She didn't even get a word in before the line died. She stood there, phone in hand, nothing but confusion.

'Someone I offended?'

She turned it over and over, combing through everyone she had crossed paths with lately. She came up empty.

She never made enemies. If there was anyone, truly anyone, it could only be one person.

"If 1 million isn't enough for you, let's see how long you can hold out." The man's cold words echoed back through her mind.

If it was him, then everything made sense.

Damian absolutely had that kind of power. A single word from him was enough to make Halston Group break their contract at the last minute. A single sentence from his lips, and her entire world ground to a halt.

A shadowy fury crept across Elodie's delicate face.

'Damian, you absolute bastard!'

The Black Orchid Club at night was the place in Evermont City where money went to burn. Its particular brand of decadent extravagance was unmatched by any other venue.

Elodie arrived in a pale cocktail dress, her hair cascading loose over her shoulders. A server led her to a private room.

"Mr. Grant Hollis is inside."

"Thank you."

She nodded. Once the server had gone, she gathered her nerve and pushed open the door.

Grant was in the middle of enjoying himself. The sudden appearance of a woman at his side pulled his face into an annoyed frown. "What are you doing here?"

Elodie wore a polished smile. "You mentioned before that you might be interested in investing in Novae Pictures's new drama. We're currently looking for investors, and I was wondering if..."

"Are you joking?" Grant stared at her like she had grown a second head. "You want me to invest in that project? You trying to ruin me?"

Elodie was stunned. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Go ask around. See how many companies still have the guts to touch your drama." Grant's face was cold. "Everyone in this industry knows your company crossed Damian Waverly of Waverly Holdings."

'So it really is him.'

"Damian's already put the word out. Anyone who invests in Novae Pictures's new drama is making an enemy of him. And he's the last person I want as an enemy. Don't drag me into this. Now leave."

Grant treated her exactly the same way every other company had. They shooed her away like she was carrying the plague.

She had been getting the door slammed in her face all day. Now she was being tossed out once again, humiliated and empty-handed.

She had known Damian was powerful. She had never truly felt the full weight of that power until now. The man could reach out and block out the sky.

No matter how she calculated, she had never imagined he would go this far, corner her this ruthlessly, leave her not even a shred of dignity.

Beatrice's surgery fund was still short. The investment was dead. The double blow pressed down on her, helplessness and exhaustion wrapping around her whole body. The despair sank in, cold and heavy.

"Isn't that Damian?"

"I think that's Seraphina next to him. Word is she only got to where she is today because Damian propped her up."

"I heard some gossip that Damian's actually married. And it's not to her. Is that true?"

"That would explain why he's kept her hanging all these years. No public acknowledgment. No commitment."

"Maybe it's just business. An investment relationship."

"Could be."

The murmurs of the nearby servers drifted into Elodie's ears. She stopped walking. She lifted her gaze toward the pair approaching from the opposite direction, and the same thoughts the servers had voiced surfaced in her own mind.

It was true. The man in his impeccably tailored suit, polished and refined. The woman in her sweeping gown, effortlessly magnetic. Damian and Seraphina moved together in perfect harmony—beautiful man, beautiful woman, a sight that made onlookers ache with envy.

'He married me. What a waste.'

Elodie's eyes fixed on them. Damian and Seraphina passed her like she was a stranger, like she didn't exist, gliding right by without a flicker of acknowledgment.

A whole day of swallowed fury flooded through Elodie's veins. Cold seeped into her limbs. Her eyes went dark with resentment, her chest tight with it.

Her face hardened. She spun around to face the two people who had just brushed past her.

She didn't know what she was about to do. But an entire day's worth of anguish had piled up inside her, and now, for the first time, she had a chance to let some of it out. She wasn't going to let that chance slip away.