Chapter 12
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The first comment mentioning Megan got countless likes, starting a trend that caused other users to mention her too.
“Doesn’t Megan call herself a composer too? After all these years, has she ever made a song that went viral?”
“I don’t know, but I heard she left the music industry after marrying Howard. Supposedly, she stays home all day and lives off her husband’s money.”
“I don’t know what Howard sees in Megan. Alyssa is so much better!”
“That’s right. The talented ones always die young. Alyssa has so much potential, yet she only has six months left to live. How tragic!”
“Alyssa really is the purest in the music industry.”
“Come on, Megan!”
“Megan should know her place and divorce Howard already. Stop clinging to him!”
“That’s right. I ship Alyssa and Howard!”
“Mr. Larson belongs to Alyssa! Get lost, Megan!”
The Internet exploded with praise for Alyssa and venom for Megan.
Before Megan could overthink, her phone rang. Jimmy was calling. After a pause, she accepted.
“Alyssa is so shameless!” Jimmy’s voice came out heated. “Megan, did you see her video? I swear…
“Even though they paid us ten million dollars, it was only for the license to use that song. How dare she say she wrote it herself! Copyright infringement is a serious thing in our country. You own the rights to that song. Sue her!”
Megan couldn’t help but smile faintly at his fury. She tried to calm him. “Mr. Ferrell, calm down.”
“How am I supposed to calm down?” Jimmy barked. “Stay away from the comments online for the next few days.
“I just got word that Alyssa’s fans are smearing you everywhere. They’re calling her the purest in the music industry. How disgusting!”
Megan’s heart warmed at his outrage on her behalf. “Listen, Jim, for now, she’s only saying she composed it. If, when the song is released, she credits Quinn or Ferrell Entertainment, then her words are nothing more than empty bragging.
“If we sue her now, Ferrell Entertainment and Quinn would have to be plaintiffs. That means I’d have to reveal myself. And I’m not ready for that yet.”
After listening to Megan’s words, Jimmy slowly calmed down. He had to admit that what she said made sense.
The song’s unreleased status kept the future uncertain, but what really calmed Jimmy down was the personal way Megan addressed him by his nickname.
“They’re saying such awful things about you,” he muttered. “She’s bullying you.”
Megan gazed out at the cityscape through her car window and chuckled. The public knew nothing about her. Not even Howard knew what she was capable of.
To outsiders, she was just the pampered Stafford heiress–spoiled, shallow, useless. None imagined she might be planning to restore her family’s lost glory. They were too blind.
Megan saw everything clearly. She simply chose silence.
The brutal things people said on the internet were a hard reality. Even with her high stress tolerance, the comments were enough to leave Megan feeling slightly overwhelmed.
She couldn’t help but wonder what Howard thought of Alyssa’s stunt. Or worse, had it been his idea all along?
Meanwhile, Howard was immersed in the daily grind of steering Larson Group’s vast empire.
Larson Group was a company that aimed to possess the world’s leading technologies. Once a company rooted in traditional industries, it had been completely modernized, diversifying into everything from financial investments and hardware to design and entertainment.
Everyone had witnessed firsthand how capable Howard was. After he took over, his leadership and strategic plans suppressed the competition and propelled the company to the forefront of its industries.
Although he was the only heir to the Larson family, he was widely considered to be leagues ahead of the leaders of other major families.
After a series of back–to–back meetings, Howard finally had a moment to himself. He sat behind his desk in his CEO’s office, massaging the space between his brows to ease his fatigue. From the top floor, he had a stunning bird’s–eye view of the entire city of Acreport.
His office was in the Larsen Headquarters, a towering building in the city center that belonged entirely to the Larson Group. The highways below teemed with cars, Countless people aspired to work here.
Howard’s phone buzzed on his desk. He picked it up and saw a message from Alyssa.
The message read, “Howard, can I come see you when you get off work tonight?”
Chapter 12
그리고
At her studio, Alyssa sat back on her couch, satisfaction curling her lips as she scrolled through the trending feed.
“Well done,” she praised the person on the other end of the line. “Keep bashing Megan, and push more clips viral. The more noise we make, the brighter I’ll shine during the live stream.”
She ended the call and turned to Lily, who lingered uncertainly nearby.
“Do you have something to say to me?” Alyssa asked.
Lily shifted uneasily. “Ms. Hardin, is this really okay? What if there’s trouble with copyright? What if Ferrell Entertainment comes after us?”
Alyssa scoffed. “Wasn’t ten million enough for them?”
“But still…” Lily hesitated, worry clouding her face.
Unbothered, Alyssa looked at her phone, waiting for Howard’s reply. She said, “Ferrell Entertainment is one of ‘Celestial Voice’s‘ investors.
“The more I hype it up, the more it benefits Ferrell Entertainment since they’ll earn more revenue. They’ll turn a blind eye to what I’m doing.
“Besides, some of their celebrities are joining too, and they’ll grow even more popular by association. If that isn’t enough for them, I’ll just work with them to promote their celebrities as a fair exchange.”
Lily never thought of that, so she was fascinated. Alyssa liked how inexperienced Lily was. It made her feel superior.
Delighted, Alyssa offered Lily some advice with feigned reluctance. “Things like this happen all the time. Everything can be negotiated. Alyssa’s Floral Studio was the same when I started it. Why don’t you guess how I got it to this level?”
Lily shook her head to indicate that she couldn’t think of anything.
Alyssa smiled smugly. Instead of answering, she decided to keep her in suspense and said, “Think it over and test your instincts.”
She went viral by designing floral displays for the rich. Every order she’d received from the rich came from Howard–directly, from his friends, or from those trying to curry favor with him. That was why she had to keep Howard firmly in her grasp.
Lily couldn’t piece it together, but she didn’t want to ask too many questions.
Alyssa was still looking at her phone, reading the comments that were bashing Megan online.
Her favourite was the one that said, “All that effort, and Megan still loses to Alyssa’s 25–second clip.”
It filled Alyssa with glee.
“And here I thought you were better than this,” Alussa said mockingly. “Turns out you’re nothing compared to me, Megan.”
Suddenly, Alyssa’s phone buzzed with a new message. She frowned as she read it. The message said, “I found out why Megan went to the hospital. She’s been pregnant for over a month.”
Chapter 13
