“I’m going to post a statement on X soon,” Freya continued. “You figure out what to do on your end.”

She hung up without waiting for Elianna’s reply.

Elianna clutched her phone, cursing. “Who do you think you are? Idiot! If you weren’t still useful, I wouldn’t let you talk to me like that.”

After venting, she knew she had to cooperate with Freya. They were in the same boat now. If Freya went down, Elianna wouldn’t be far behind.

Freya logged into X, typed out a message, and posted it after a quick review.

[Sapphire: Thank you all for your interest in ‘Moonlit Hunt.‘ Yes, I do know Ms. Stone.

[Regarding the trending topic, I’d like to rify: we had a small disagreement, and she said those things because she was upset with me.

[The misunderstanding has been resolved. I apologize for wasting everyone’s valuable time.

[Furthermore, I want to state that every role will be cast fairly through auditions to find the most suitable actor. There will be no pre–determined casting]

Elianna quickly followed suit with her own exnation, echoing Freya’s sentiment. She said they’d had a tiff, and she’d spoken out of frustration.

Everything was fine now, she apologized for taking up public resources and everyone’s time, and hoped people would shift their focus back bto /bthe casting for “Moonlit Hunt.”

Fans felt yed and were furious, flooding their X ounts with angryments.

[All this drama over a petty fight between you twoi? /iDo you think this tform is your private living room?]

[Next time, sort out your personal drama privately instead of airing it and making fools of us, okay?]

[I can’t believe two grown adults are acting this childish.]

[Can someone like Elianna Stone really pull off the brilliant, decisive, and cold–hearted protagonist of ‘Moonlit Hunt‘?]

[I’m against it. She’s only done roms; how could she possibly handle a thriller?]

[Too bad if you don’t agree! Our Elianna is amazing, she’ll definitely nail the audition and get the lead role, just to spite you.]

Book fans, generalizens, and Elianna’s stans argued back and forth online, pushing the topic back into the trending list.

Elianna was livid seeing herself get dragged. Their n had been to get Skr mmed byizens, but now she was the one taking the heat.

It’s all that ipetent Freya’s fault, more trouble than she’s worth!‘ Elianna thought bitterly,

Phidon, CEO’s Office.

Skr watched the entire farce unfold.

She hadn’t expected Elianna to actually cooperate with Freya’s damage control. ‘Elianna must have found out the ount isn’t mine,‘ she bmused/b.

‘Freya’s kept up her disguise so well for years; there’s no way Elianna would have figured it out on her own. Freya must have btold /bbher/b. bSo/b, bthey’ve /bbeen bin /bcahoots for a while, behind my back.

‘That time Freya deliberately leaked that y’d been in prison…. my ‘dear sister‘ Elianna probably fed her that information too.

b1/2 /b

‘But even with the two of them together, they can’t really touch me,‘

bA /bsmirk yed on Skr’s lips. Just as she was about to put her phone away, a message came in from Julia Martin, her contact bat /bbthe /bbCampbell /bbGroup/b.

[Sapphire, when are you nning to hold auditions?]

Skr thought for a moment, checked her schedule, and suggested three days from now.

[Great, I’ll get started on the preparations,] Julia replied.

The Campbell Group announced the auditions and soon received numerous video submissions.

Julia sent Skr apressed file of the videos.

[Sapphire, these are the initial selections based on your criteria. Take a look, and once you’ve confirmed, we can invite them for in–person auditionsb./bb] /b

Julia said.

Skr skimmed through them. Unsurprisingly, she saw submissions from her brother Victor and Elianna. *