Chapter 77

Seville had only gone to watch the live stage of Heavenly Melody out of curiosity. At that point, he had only been a casual fan of Vivian.

But her terminal cancer, her charity efforts, and the strength she showed while comforting others facing the same situation had left a strong impression.She seemed graceful, courageous, and truly admirable.

The reason Seville decided to post Serena's live footage had little to do with Vivian herself. The truth was, it all began with frustration. He had been attacked in online debates, unfairly blamed, and silenced by faceless trolls. That video was his way of pushing back.

The fact that Millie showed up in front of him,introducing herself as Serena caught him completely off guard.

Whispers about Vivian's tangled affair with Brandon were all over social media, and Millie-Brandon's wife -was always dragged into the mess.

According to the Internet, she was pathetic. A fragile,spoiled woman who clung to her husband for money most and couldn't even do anything on her own. A background figure with no strength of her own. But Serena, that radiant woman on stage? Could she and Millie really be the same woman?

"Wait... this can't be real," he muttered, eyes wide."You're nothing like what they talk about online."

He had attended both shows. One great performance might be sheer luck, sure. But Serena's flawless consistency and her commanding presence on stage proved she had genuine talent.

She wasn't weak. She wasn't passive. She was powerful in a way the Internet had never shown.

"God," Seville whispered. "You're Serena... This is so unbelievable!"

"Told you," Alexia said beside him, arms crossed."I've been saying it from the beginning. Vivian getting involved in someone else's marriage. Not exactly the noble image she was selling. You were the one who told me to ignore it. You said you just wanted to shut the trolls up, remember? But now you finally see the truth, don't you? Vivian was the one who tampered with the video and audio. She ordered someone to mess it up, and used Brandon's name to do it-the man who's still legally Millie's husband. They haven't divorce yet, mind you. Think about it. Charles runs Evans Entertainment-the same company backing Heavenly Melody. Do you think anyone else would've dared to sabotage Serena's performance knowing she works for Charles? She's their top performer, even."

Seville still looked confused. "But... why would she do that? Does Vivian even know who Serena really is?"

Millie gently shook her head. "No. Other than Charles,only the people in this room knowN the truth."

"Even the makeup artist has never seen her face,"Alexia added with a smirk.

Seville frowned, trying to connect the dots. "But...I still don't get it."

"Oh, seriously?" Alexia rolled her eyes and nudged Millie further inside. "It's not that complicated. Vivian can't stand the idea of someone-anyone-outshining her. That's always been how she is. She wants to be the center of attention, so anyone else who shines becomes a threat. You've always seen the best in her,so you never noticed the rest. That's the problem."

Seville didn't respond. The shock still hadn't worn off.Millie stayed quiet too, understanding what was happening. Alexia's words had struck a nerve. Seville had once admired Vivian, maybe even idolized her.And Millie knew when someone you looked up to fell off that pedestal, it took time to accept.

Without another word, Millie followed Alexia further into the apartment.

The neighborhood they'd entered had become trendy in recent years, known for its clean streets and high-end facilities. Most of the residents were professionals -tech experts, software engineers, and developers with lucrative stock options and deep connections in the industry. Quiet money. Smart money.

The house itself had a sleek, modern design-minimalist, almost cold. It gave off the vibe of someone precise and data-driven, like a software architect with no time for clutter. Definitely not Seville's style.

Millie glanced at Seville again. He stood there in his bold anime shirt, covered in brightly colored artwork,completely out of place in the calm, muted environment.

Noticing her look, Seville quickly snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh-uh, this isn't my place," he said,rubbing the back of his neck. "It's my brother's. He's the one doing the ddata recovery."

By then,Alexia had already led Millie down the hallway to a closed door. She knocked gently.

"Come in," a man's voice called from inside.

Alexia pushed the door open. The room mirrored the minimalist design of the rest of the house-clean lines, muted colors-but this one was packed with electronics. Wires, monitors, and drives covered the desks. It looked more like a tech lab than a living space.

Alexia shot Millie a quick glance before nudging Seville to step in first.

Maybe the person inside didn't like being interrupted...or just had a short fuse.

"Yo, bro, is the data recovery done?" Seville asked casually, stepping inside like he owned the place."brought them over."

As soon as he spoke, Alexia nudged Millie gently, and the two of them moved toward the center of the room.

"Almost finished," the man replied without looking up.He wore black-rimmed glasses and focused intently on the screen in front of him. Millie watched the progress bar tick toward completion. Then, with a small click,it was done.

The man turned in his chair. "It's ready. You can go through it-see what you need or want to save."

He didn't offer a greeting, didn't ask any questions,and juststepped aside so they could take a look. His demeanor was precise, detached-almost robotic.

Alexia pointed to herself. "Want me to do it?" Since the phone belonged to her friend, it made sense for Alexia to handle it instead of letting someone else dig through the files.

"Yeah, go ahead." Seville nodded, moving aside to chat quietly with his brother.

Millie stayed nearby, her eyes fixed on the screen while Alexia started clicking through folders.

The room settled into an eerie quiet, broken only by the soft clicks of the mouse.

"That's Millie," Seville whispered to his brother."Brandon's wife... and also Serena."

He probably thought his voice was low enough, but Millie heard it.

She felt someone's eyes flick toward her, and then look away just as fast.

Then, Alexia's voice rang out, cutting through the silence."Found it!"

"Seriously? Let me check if it's any good!" Seville rushed over, eyes wide with excitement as the video started playing. "Guess Tia's got a whole collection of phones," Alexia joked, chuckling. One device was running their video call during the livestream, while another captured video from a different angle.

No wonder she was such a pro at snatching phones-this clearly wasn't her first time pulling off something like this.

"This is actually decent," Seville said with a nod. "Not top-tier gear, but still miles ahead of a lot of the junk floating around online."

"What's your take on it, Millie?" Alexia asked.

Millie, who had been quietly observing, gave a gentle smile and nodded in agreement.

"With this video out there, let's see how those trolls try to slander me again," Seville said, his voice tight with resentment.

"Is it really enough?" his brother asked, arms crossed."Might not turn out the way you're hoping."

"Oh, come on, the live performance was amazing!"Sevillereplied, a little louder than necessary.

Alexia didn't speak. She simply looked at Millie,waiting for her take on it.

Millie stepped forward and grabbed the mouse,dragging the video's progress bar back and forth,replaying certain moments with a thoughtful expression. After a beat, she said, "It'll work."

Seville's brother didn't look convinced. His frown deepened slightly.

Millie understood his hesitation-a phone recording could never fully capture the magic of a live performance. He likely assumed Seville was overhyping it.

And if the footage didn't meet the expectations Seville had built up, the backlash could be just as harsh.

"We just need the right timing-then it'll make the impact we're aiming for," Millie said calmly.

At that moment, her phone buzzed.

Glancing at the screen, she saw Charles' name flashing.

She picked up with a steady voice. "Hi, Charles."

"Fantastic update, Millie!" Charles' voice crackled with triumph. "I finally cornered Oakley and his people.They're under our control now. We can kick him out -today,tomorrow, or even right this second. Just say the word!"

Millie's lips curved into a slow smile as she listened to his laughter.

At last, the opening she had waited for was here.