Chapter 77 Tying Up Loose Ends

+Finished

Everything they saw, heard, and felt seemed horrifyingly real–every bit of pain, helplessness, and fear flooded their hearts. They had been so scared they thought they might actually die, but no one came to save them… no one reached out a hand…

Just when they thought it was all over–that they really were going to die–those scenes, those voices, vanished like a tide retreating from the shore, and they were pulled back into reality.

The ssroom was still dark. Lacey copsed weakly on the cold floor. She had no strength, her mind was foggy. There wasn’t a single wound on her body, but the nightmare she’d just endured had shredded her spirit to pieces.

It felt like she had died hundreds of times. Her mental state was wrecked. She couldn’t help but cry out in fear. She’d never experienced anything so terrifying in her entire life.

Later, the academyunched an investigation into the incident. But she couldn’t exin it to them–whether it had all just been a nightmare or something much more real.

She and Deon didn’t have any physical injuries. They tried to describe everything that had happened, but no one would believe such a surreal story.

The school concluded they were hallucinating–that there was something wrong with their mental state.

And in the end, the matter was swept under the rug. Now, Jean had just told her-

The one who had done all that to her in the Palette Building… was her.

bA /bstorm surged through Lacey’s heart. Her body wouldn’t stop trembling. Every time she thought of bthat /bday, shepletely lost her ability to stay calm, iIf /iit really had been Jean… Then what kind of person was shei? /iWas she ireally /ijust a regr studenti? /i

That kind of hypnotic bsorcery/b–being able to control someone’s mind… where she had learned it was a mystery. She wasn’t a normal person–she was a monster.

Jean had bno /bidea what Lacey was thinking right then.

bThat /bpart of her memory–the one about the Palette Building–was missing.

She had no clue what the original Jean had done to Lacey back then.

She bjust /bwanted to tell Lacey the truth.

“Jean,” Lacey forced a crooked smile, her face twisting as she let out a warpedugh. “You… you’re really… you’re such a freak!”

With bthat/bb, /bshe rushed past Jean and ran straight toward the nearby police officers.

“Officer!” Her eyes were wide, her expression frantic and bordering on hysterical. Her voice came

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Chapter 77 Tying Up Loose Ends

She shouted and pointed directly at Jean.

Finished

“She’s the real viin! She hurt her ssmates!” Lacey’s voice broke with tears, her emotions spiraling out of control. “Officer, you need to arrest her too!”

“She’s the worst one!” Lacey sobbed at the top of her lungs, her face drenched with tears. “She just confessed! She admitted everything she did!”

At that, a few of the officers furrowed their brows, clearly confused. One of them tried to calm her down. “Let’s take a breath. You need to calm down. No matter what happened, we need actual evidence and a clear, objective analysis. Yelling won’t help.”

“I don’t have evidence, but she admitted it herself!” Lacey clenched her fists and said it loud and clear.

Seeing that she was slipping into something like a frenzy, the officers couldn’t help but nce over at Jean.

Jean walked over slowly, unhurried.

“What did you say to her? Why is she suddenly freaking out like this…” one of the officers asked with a frown, clearly baffled.

Jean shrugged. Her expression was calm and even. “Nothing much… I just told her to reflect on herself and try to be a better person.”

“Nonsense!” Lacey screamed. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she lunged at Jean like a wild animal. “You lying wench!”

But before she couldy a finger on Jean, one of the officers caught her and held her back with force.

“Calm down.”

Lacey thrashed wildly, looking like someonepletely unhinged.

Jean watched it all coldly, her gaze emotionless.

She had deliberately spoken in a low voice just now–there was no way the officers had heard what she really said to Lacey.

And everything that had happened in the Palette Building, Lacey didn’t have a shred of bproof/b. That was exactly why Jean had dared to bconfront /bher so openly.

At this moment, in the eyes of the police, Lacey was nothing more than a mentally unstable girl having a breakdown. Without evidence, she could only scream andsh out like a madwoman.

Serves you right, Lacey. You bbrought /bthis on yourself.

Jean’s eyes shed with a trace of dark satisfaction–sweet, vengeful triumph.

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Chapter 77 Tying Up Loose Ends

As they were leaving, one officer even turned back to ask Jean if she was frightened.

Jean shook her head obediently. iHow /icould I be scared?

She was thrilled.

For now, the matter hade to an end. The next day-

Finished

Jean got a call from the police. Lacey’s fingerprints had been collected, and theparison confirmed they matched the ones found on the snack bag.

Which meant Lacey really had poisoned it–solid evidence.

The police also told her that Sterford Academy had been informed. They had bknown /bnothing about what Lacey had done, and they were both shocked and heartbroken by the news. They made it clear they would not tolerate such behavior and had decided to expel Lacey.

Of course, beyond being expelled, Lacey would also be facing legal consequences.

And just like that, the grudge between Jean and Lacey had finallye to an end.

Lacey would get the punishment she deserved. As for Jean, Lacey would be gone from Empire Starpletely erased from her life..

Thanks to all this, Jean had been in ba /bpretty good mood the past few days.

But that didn’tst long–she soon got a call from Taylor.

Taylor told her the variety show filming was about to start and that she needed to be ready.

That bwas /bwhen Jean suddenly remembered–there was still a show waiting on her.

She’d signed the contract and taken the appearance fee, then shoved the whole thing out of her bmind/b. Now bthat /bTaylor had reminded her, she realized it was time to hold up her end of the deal.

bGoing /bon the bshow /bmeant she’d have to ask the school for leave.

Actually, Empire Star bencouraged /bstudents to participate in high–profile, visible events like this. It bwas /bgood publicity for the school.

So when Jean called her homeroom teacher and exined about the variety show, the teacher immediately approved her request for time boff/b.

Which meant Jean wouldn’t need to go to school for a while.

Soon after, Taylor sent her all the rted documents for the bshow /bin an email.

Jean skimmed through it-

The show bwas /bcalled “Behind the Spotlight“.

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Chapter 78 Plot Twist.

Behind the Spotlight… Jean repeated the title silently in her head.

Her eyes widened. If she remembered correctly-

Finished

The variety show “Behind the Spotlight” was mentioned in the novel, and not just in passing.

Jean sat down on the sofa by the window, pressed her lips together, and started thinking hard.

In the novel, Easton had definitely taken part in the show.

It was a duo–format variety show. But Easton’s partner hadn’t been her–it had been someone else-

Jean frowned. She thought about it for a long while before she finally remembered. Easton’s partner had been a girl named… Julia. That was it. Julia. And she wasn’t just anybody…

During the show, she had seriously messed with Easton. She ruined his reputation,ying the groundwork for his eventual downfallter in the story..

But now, because of Jean’s interference, the plot had beenpletely thrown off course.

The one who ended up partnering with Easton wasn’t Julia anymore–it was her!

This meant that her transmigration had be part of a butterfly effect, changing the original storyline of the variety show.

iIf /iEaston had inever /imet iJulia/i, would that have meant he could have avoided what happened in the novel and dodged that bulletpletelyi? /iThat’d be amazing. Lucky scumbag, Easton. iBut /iwhat about Julia.. biWould /i/bshe still show up in ithe /ivariety show, even though she hadn’t been assigned as Easton’s partner? Jean pouted.

She wouldn’t know until filming actually started.

If Julia never showed up, then Easton’s life path would bepletely rewritten. That guy should really get on his knees and thank her.

Jean let out a big yawn.

She

got up and returned to herputer to look through the show’s details again.

The so–called “duo” format wasn’t just about pairing two celebrities. Each celebrity would be teamed up with a regr kid.

The main concept was that the star would take the kid around to different ces and experience everyday life together, while guests in the observation room wouldment and evaluate what they saw.

lean as it turned out was going to be the “regr kid” partnered with Faston.

Chapter 78 Plot Twist

Sounded pretty easy.

Finished

Jean just hoped the show would go smoothly and not turn into the chaotic, drama–filled mess it had been in the novel.

She kept scrolling through a few more pages of information. The show would be a hybrid format -part pre–recorded, part live–streamed.

The observation room scenes would be filmed in advance.

But the segments with the stars and kids out exploring life? Those would be broadcast live.

Once she’d seen enough, Jean exited her email.

There were still two days before filming officially began.

She nned to get a good night’s sleep, rest up, then start packing her things to head out.

These past few days, she had been deliberately avoiding Matheo.

She was worried that the moody jerk of a father wouldsh out at her without warning–after all, their first meeting had nearly turned violent.

Jean wasn’t afraid of Matheo.

She just didn’t see the point in stirring up trouble. Matheo was, after all, still the second–in-mand of the Ginger family, with real power in his hands. There was no reason to tangle with him unnecessarily.

No need to bring disaster on herself.

So she decided to keep her distance and avoid him altogether. No point in running into that walking curse of a man.

And bin /bba /bcouple of days, once bfilming /bstarted, she wouldn’t bhave /bto see Matheo bat /bball/b.

At the same time-

Julia had also received the show’s information.

She was sitting in front of herputer, studying the material carefully.

Just a few days earlier, she had gotten ba /bcall from Matheo.

Matheo told her he’d already spoken to thework director and secured her a spot on a guaranteed–hit variety show.

Guaranteed hiti? /iAt first, Julia thought Matheo was exaggerating. But bthen /bhe said–

The director of the bshow /bbwas /bTavlor. And one of the guests was Easton…..

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Chapter 78 Plot Twist

#Finished

That was ratings gold. With those two involved, there was no way the show wouldn’t be a massive

sess,

Even though Julia had always lived abroad, she still enjoyed watching TV shows from back home.

So she wasn’t unfamiliar with Taylor and Easton.

In fact, their names were legendary to her.

Knowing that, she finally felt reassured. This wasn’t going to be some cheap, low–budget bproject/b. If she yed her cards right, it could be a big break.

Clearly, Matheo had gone to a lot of effort tond her such an amazing opportunity.

She felt genuinely touched and made sure to thank him properly.

But then, Matheo suddenly said something else-

“Julia, there’s something I need to tell you. I need you to remember it, no matter what. Don’t forget. Got it?”

His tone was unusually serious, and Julia couldn’t help but straighten up.

“Dad, what is it? You sound so intense…”

Matheo let out a soft sigh. So quiet, you’d miss it if you weren’t paying attention. “It’s not a big deal. bJust/b… do you know who Easton is?”

Julia smiled faintly and tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Of course I do. Dad, I’m not ba /bcaveman. How could I not know Easton? He’s a huge star.”

“That’s not what I mean…”

He hesitated, then finally got straight to the point. “bEaston/b–he’s a Ginger too. He’s my son. Your half–brother.”

Julia hadn’t seen bthat /bing.

Her eyes flew open in shock as she tried to bprocess /bwhat he’d just said.

She had balways /bknown Matheo had another family, with five sons and a little daughter. But she’d never looked binto /bthe details.

She had been deliberately avoiding it. She didn’t want to know anything about Matheo’s other family. bShe /bwas afraid that once she knew, she’d feel jealous…

And now Matheo was telling her–that the superstar she was about to film a show with… was her brother.

Her feelings wereplicated. Shocked. Confused. And maybe.. maybe ba /blittle curious.

Chapter 78 Plot Twist

Finished

the phone. “When you’re around Easton, you absolutely cannot let your identity slip. He must. never find out that you’re my daughter. You understand? If he finds out… the consequences would be unbearable.”

Julia lowered her gaze, her voice quiet and even. “I understand, Dad. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to make things harder for you.”

She said the right words. But in her bright eyes, a shadow passed quickly.

Matheo’s warning was a reminder–she was still something to be hidden in the dark.

She had to keep wearing the mask.

Her overly obedient tone clearly pleased Matheo. He chuckled and said, “Good girl, Julia. So thoughtful, so understanding… Do your best on the show. You might just be a star overnight.”