Chapter 4

The next day, I didn't go to the office.

Daniel hadn't returned home all night, not even a phone call.

I guessed he was busy comforting his startled "innocent angel."

Good.

I'd use this time to settle all the messy accounts between us.

I had Mr. Davis's team move into Starlight, beginning the copyright and financial audit.

The news spread like wildfire, sending the entire company into an uproar.

Daniel's call finally came through at noon, his voice thick with suppressed fury.

"Maya! What the hell are you trying to do?! Bringing lawyers into the company, do you want everyone to laugh at us?!"

"Laugh at us?" I leisurely applied lipstick in the mirror, the vibrant red like a battle flag. "Mr. Sterling, what's left between us besides a joke?"

He choked, his breathing growing heavier.

"Stop messing around! Get your lawyers out of there! We can talk about this at home!"

"Home?" I chuckled. "Which home? The one with you in it, or the one with Scarlett?"

"Maya!" he practically roared. "Are you really trying to destroy ten years of our lives together?!"

"Our lives?" I pulled a cold smile at my reflection. "Daniel Sterling, from the moment you put Scarlett and me on a scale, calling her a genius and me a craftswoman, there was nothing left between us but business."

"And I, Maya Linwood, never do business at a loss."

I didn't wait for his reply; I hung up directly.

My phone rang again almost immediately. This time, it was my assistant, Chloe.

Her voice was utterly frantic: "Maya! It's bad! Something huge has happened!"

"Slow down," I said, remarkably calm.

"Scarlett… Scarlett gave a live interview today, and she said… she said that the new script you're working on, *Begonia*, the lead character 'Begonia,' is based on her!"

My hand, applying lipstick, froze.

*Begonia*.

That was the script I wrote for my mother.

My mother's childhood nickname was Begonia. She was the most resilient, gentle woman I had ever known, and she passed away in an accident when I was ten.

This script was my elegy to her, the softest, most sacred place in my heart.

I had never mentioned it to anyone, not even Daniel.

Scarlett… how could she know?

"Not only that," Chloe's voice was tearful, "she also implied in the interview that many details of the character resembled her own life experiences, and she 'thanked' you for tailoring it for her… Now the entire internet is calling you a 'genius screenwriter' who, to promote Scarlett, even 'copied' her life story!"

"Copied" her life?

Heh, she wished.

A wave of nausea and pure rage surged up from my gut.

"Maya, the PR department is losing their minds, and Mr. Sterling's phone is unreachable, what should we do?"

"Don't panic." I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and when I opened them again, my gaze was icy. "Tell the PR department to do nothing. Wait for my message."

After hanging up, I immediately logged into my Ins account.

That account, which had been dormant for almost a year, still boasted millions of followers.

I didn't post a long rant, just a photo and a single sentence.

The photo was a black-and-white picture of my mother when she was young, holding a幼年的 me, smiling gently and serenely. In her eyes, one could vaguely see the shadow of the 'Begonia' character.

The caption read: "*Begonia*, written for my one and only muse, my mother. She's gone, but she lives forever in my stories. #BegoniaLivesOn"

Not a single word mentioned Scarlett, but every word was a resounding slap across her face.

Ins exploded instantly.

#MayaLinwoodBegoniaIsMyMother

#ScarlettHayesScam

#FeelSorryForMaya

These topics shot to the top three trending lists with unstoppable momentum.

The tide of public opinion turned instantly.

The marketing accounts that had previously praised Scarlett as "naturally talented" and "the chosen one" were left utterly exposed and humiliated.

Countless netizens flooded Scarlett's Ins, calling her a "fake innocent girl," a "scheming manipulator," and accusing her of "exploiting the deceased for fame."

I watched the comments, feeling no joy.

Only a vast emptiness.

I knew this was just the beginning.

The war between me, Daniel, and Scarlett had just begun.

My phone vibrated.

It was a text from Daniel, just a few short words.

[Are you satisfied?]

I stared at those words and laughed.

So, in his eyes, my act of clarifying the truth, of defending my mother's dignity, was merely for my "satisfaction."

I didn't reply.

Because I knew he wouldn't think that way for long.

Sure enough, half an hour later, Chloe's call came again, this time her voice filled with despair.

"Maya… we've been hit by a backlash…"

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Sterling… Mr. Sterling himself intervened." Chloe's voice trembled. "He ordered the company's online smear campaign to claim that you… that you are exploiting your deceased mother, seeking sympathy, and deliberately suppressing a newcomer…"

"He said Scarlett is just a naive young girl who misspoke out of pure admiration for you, and that you, as a senior, are being ruthless and utterly graceless!"

"Now… now the tide has turned again, and many people are calling you malicious, calling you a publicity-seeker…"

I gripped the phone, my knuckles turned white from gripping the phone.

For a moment, I felt like I was choking on glass.

Daniel Sterling.

To protect Scarlett's so-called "innocent darling" image.

He actually stepped in personally, directing an online smear campaign, using the most vicious language to defame me and my deceased mother.

He was trampling me into the mud, just to build a pure, unblemished wall around that 'innocent' woman he cherished.

I finally understood.

My talent, my efforts, my ten years of selfless love, even my most sacred family bonds.

In front of Scarlett, they were utterly worthless.

This man was no longer the boy who had weathered hardships with me.

He had become a lunatic who would twist facts and sacrifice anything for his "precious darling."

And I was the price to be sacrificed at will.

I opened my contacts and found a number I had saved but never thought I'd dial.

The contact name was – Julian Thorne.

The head of Aura Media, the man whom even Daniel Sterling had to treat with caution in the capital market.

The call connected quickly.

A deep, magnetic male voice, with a hint of lazy amusement, answered.

"Ah, Ms. Linwood, finally remembered me?"

"Mr. Thorne." My voice was calm, without a ripple. "I want to discuss a business deal with you."

"Oh?" He seemed interested. "Tell me more."

"I want to start my own company, a new film and television production house."

"I have three A-list projects in hand: a sci-fi blockbuster, a suspense crime thriller, and one that's currently at the center of controversy, *Begonia*."

"I need funding, distribution channels, and top-tier promotional resources."

"In return, you'll own thirty percent of the new company's shares, and… exclusive distribution rights for all projects overseas."

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

It lasted so long I thought he would refuse.

Then, Julian Thorne laughed, a deep chuckle, like the resonance of a cello.

"Maya, do you know you're declaring war on Daniel Sterling?"

"I do."

"He'll tear you apart."

"So what?" I looked out the window. The sky was darkening, a storm was brewing. "I have nothing left, so I have nothing to lose."

"Interesting," Julian Thorne said. "I accept your terms."

"However, I have a condition too."

"Name it."

"I don't want shares." Julian Thorne's voice, transmitted through the phone, carried an undeniable authority. "I want you."

I froze.

"Mr. Thorne, I don't…"

"Don't misunderstand," he interrupted. "What I mean is, I want Maya Linwood to become the future head of production for Aura Media. Your new company, Aura will acquire it entirely. You'll have one hundred percent creative freedom and decision-making power. I'll give you the platform, the resources, everything I can give."

"Why?" I asked, puzzled.

"Because I think betting on a genius's revenge is far more thrilling than betting on a businessman's marriage."

"Besides," he paused, his voice dropping lower, imbued with a strange seduction, "I also want to see Daniel Sterling's expression when the jewel he personally destroyed blossoms with even more dazzling brilliance in someone else's hands."

"It'll be quite a show, won't it?"

I had Mr. Davis send the divorce papers directly to Starlight's board of directors.

Attached was a fifty-page list for copyright divestment and asset liquidation.