Chapter 5 Ignorant Samuel

"That makes sense."

Steven's eyes flickered, clearly agreeing with Charlotte.

"Eliana loves competing with Charlotte for attention. If she actually had the musical talent to outshine Charlotte, she would've made a huge deal out of it by now — she wouldn't have kept the Summer Night Breeze account hidden."

"But... if Eliana isn't Summer Night Breeze, then how did Summer Night Breeze end up with a song Eliana wrote?"

Sean frowned, feeling like things weren't as simple as Charlotte and the others made them sound.

But Charlotte had no intention of letting him keep dwelling on it.

The moment he finished speaking, Charlotte let out a few casual, deliberate coughs.

"Maybe Eliana didn't even write that song herself. She used some method we don't know about to steal Summer Night Breeze's work, and then let me take the blame for it."

"Or maybe... Eliana sold the rights to that song to Summer Night Breeze without telling any of us."

"Sean, you know Eliana ran away from home. She must be desperate for money right now, and the only thing she has to offer is the copyright to that song."

Selling the rights?

That was actually a reasonable guess.

Sean pressed his lips together, looking displeased.

"We asked her to give that song to you, and she refused. Now she's handed it over to some stranger and got you slapped with a plagiarism accusation. What a piece of work. Next time I see her, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."

"Alright, what's done is done. Getting angry now isn't going to help anything." Simon let out a quiet scoff and shifted his gaze to Steven and Samuel.

"Steven, keep trying to reach Summer Night Breeze and manage the public narrative. As for Samuel — I remember you mentioned that EverBlaze Media is currently casting. Use your connections and get Charlotte a spot."

"EverBlaze Media's CEO Theodore is a world-renowned director and one of the most famous actors internationally."

"The project he's currently casting for will be his last time playing a lead role. After it wraps, he's moving entirely behind the camera."

"Bottom line — whatever EverBlaze Media puts out is going to be huge. If Charlotte can land the female lead or a major supporting role, people will forget all about this plagiarism story soon enough."

An EverBlaze Media project?

Samuel's lips moved slightly. He wanted to tell Simon that even though he'd appeared in plenty of well-known films and TV shows, a project Theodore was personally starring in was a completely different league — one he had no real pull in.

But when he saw the expectant looks on both Simon and Charlotte's faces, he froze.

"Alright, Dad. I understand. I'll have my agent reach out to EverBlaze Media right away."

After a long hesitation, Samuel finally forced himself to say the words.

"Samuel, thank you."

Charlotte's eyes lit up the moment she heard that. She rushed over and grabbed his arm.

……

"Eliana, I found it. EverBlaze Media's new project is a film set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The female lead is a badly injured female warrior who gets thrown out of a tower, and the male lead is an android."

At the same time, over at Isabella's place, Isabella and Eliana were also talking about EverBlaze Media's new project.

"Honestly, I think Theodore's plot outline sounds a lot like the backstory behind Summer Night Breeze's first song. Hey, Eliana... do you think there's any chance Theodore is actually a fan of yours?"

"No chance."

Eliana poked her on the forehead, looking exasperated.

"Theodore is a massive star — everything he does gets watched closely. If he'd followed Summer Night Breeze, fans would've already dug that up and posted about it."

"Okay, fair point."

Isabella let out a long sigh, scrolling through her phone for more news about Theodore while continuing to chat with Eliana.

"By the way, Eliana, do you think you'll make it through EverBlaze Media's audition? This one really matters. If you can't get signed with them, you'll never be able to break free from your parents' control."

"Auditions are always a gamble. All I can do is give it my best shot and leave the rest to fate."

Eliana shrugged. She was the one in a tough spot, yet she seemed far less anxious than Isabella.

Seeing her like that only made Isabella more nervous. She started scrolling even faster.

Eliana laughed softly and picked up her own phone to browse the news.

She hadn't told Isabella that she didn't know whether Theodore was a fan of hers — but she knew for certain that she was a fan of his.

She'd watched every one of Theodore's films multiple times and knew every one of his acting habits inside and out.

So walking into this audition, her goal was nothing less than the female lead.

She was confident she could hold her own against Theodore's performance.

……

"Eliana? What are you doing here? Are you auditioning too?"

Wednesday came around quickly.

Isabella had work that morning and couldn't drive Eliana, so Eliana took the subway to EverBlaze Media's building on her own.

Whether by coincidence or not, the moment she walked in, she ran into two people she'd rather not see.

"I heard that everyone involved in this project is a seasoned actor with a solid reputation. Eliana, you're not really qualified for something like this, are you?"

Charlotte covered her mouth, her face arranged into an expression of exaggerated concern.

"Eliana, did you use the Sullivan family name to get yourself an audition slot? How could you do that? Mom and Dad always taught us that Sullivan children should be independent and self-reliant."

"You stabbed Steven, and now you're using the family's influence to get ahead. How shameless can you be?"

Samuel was standing right beside Charlotte. He already had no patience for Eliana, and after hearing Charlotte's words, his expression darkened even further.

"Just go home. You have zero talent — what are you even doing here? If you have time to waste, you'd be better off writing more songs for Charlotte."

"And I'm warning you — what you did selling your song to Summer Night Breeze isn't over. If you don't find a way to make it up to Charlotte, don't even think about coming back."

Eliana blinked at that, then felt a cold laugh rise up inside her.

No wonder the Sullivans hadn't gone after Summer Night Breeze even after she'd posted the song Charlotte had taken from her.

They actually thought Summer Night Breeze and she were two different people.

Interesting. Really quite interesting.

Now she understood — the Sullivans had absolutely no idea what she was capable of.

But honestly... that worked in her favor.

She could use their ignorance to her advantage in so many ways.

Eliana narrowed her eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips as she turned to Samuel.

"Have you ever actually watched me act?"