Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)

The two of them pushed their way to the front without any resistance. As soon as they spotted Freya slumped on the ground, they started cursing her with bared teeth.

"You little brat! I was wondering why you were never around, and here you are, doing this kind of thing! You're a disgrace!" The middle-aged woman marched over and yanked Freya's ear.

Freya winced in pain, her voice rushed with panic. "Mom, let go of me! Don't make a scene here. We can talk outside!"

"Go outside? Are you kidding me? You can't let some man take advantage of you for free! Your brother's counting on saving up money to get married! If you do this, you're worth nothing. This man needs to take responsibility."

The middle-aged woman scolded, her eyes then fixating angrily on Hilbert.noveldrama

With a sneer, she snapped, "It's you! You old creep! You're way too old to mess around with a young girl like her! I'm telling you, if you don't pay up, you're gonna regret it! The video's all over the internet!"

With that, Freya's father pulled out a pocket knife from his back pocket.

"If you don't hand over the money today, I'll make sure you regret it!"

Freya clung to them, pleading, "Please, can we just go outside? I'm begging you!"

The couple threw Freya back to the ground, scolding, "Don't forget, we only let you go to college because you promised to make a lot of money for your brother. Now your reputation's ruined, you're useless!"

Hearing this, Freya felt like the last bit of dignity she had was ripped away, and she sat there like a rag doll.

The celebration had officially turned into a total disaster.

Eventually, the guests took the hint and began to leave on their own.

Soon, the grand hall was left with nothing but towering champagne glasses and vibrant bouquets.

Hilbert tossed a twenty grand hush-money check and bolted with his entourage.

Freya's parents, delighted with the money, walked away, ignoring their bleeding daughter.

Sylvia turned her attention away from Freya and headed out of the banquet hall.

She soon spotted Eloise standing nearby, comforting a tearful figure.

It was Bella.

"Ms. Eloise, please give me another chance. I promise I won't do it again."

"Bella, the moment you betrayed me, there was no going back. You know how much the studio means tome, and you put it at risk by helping others. I can't keep you on

Eloise shook Bella off and, spotting Sylvia, gestured for her to come over.

"Sylvia, let's go."

"Yeah."

Sylvia followed Eloise down the hallway.

Along the way, she expressed her gratitude to Eloise. "Ms. Eloise, thank you for the video of Mr. Carmen. Without it, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on."

Eloise looked puzzled. "You mean the video with those two women and Mr. Carmen? That wasn't me."

"It wasn't you? Then who?" Sylvia asked, surprised.

Eloise glanced at her with a soft smile. "The woman in the video deliberately

showed the gem to the camera. Someone clearly set this up."

"Should we try to find those two women and ask them?" Sylvia furrowed her brow.

"Do you think you can? The Carmen family probably has people hunting them down already. If they find

them, it'd be a miracle. Besides, net

can't you guess? Sometimes, we just don't want to see what's right in front of us."

As she spoke, Eloise adjusted Sylvia's scarf, a soft, warm cashmere.

The corner was embroidered with a letter in gold thread, a subtle reminder.

Sylvia stiffened slightly, having consciously ignored the scarf's presence all along.

Eloise chuckled at her awkwardness.

"Let's go."

Sylvia nodded.

As they left, someone called out Sylvia's name.

"Sylvia."

It was Warren.