"Ms. Vanessa, Mr. Julian and I have official business to discuss. Are you planning to stay and listen in, or will you walk out yourself?"

My words were like a loud slap across Vanessa’s face.

Her whole body trembled; her face turned from pale to red, from red to green, and finally, only a deathly gray remained.

She looked at me, her eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

Then, she looked at Julian, the man she had always assumed would unconditionally stand by her side.

Julian, however, avoided her gaze, picking up the teacup in front of him and pretending to drink.

Vanessa smiled, a smile that looked worse than crying.

She leaned against the wall, swaying as she stood up, and step by step, walked out of the room.

The moment the door closed, I heard her whisper in a barely audible voice:

"Aiden, you will regret this."

I picked up the teacup and gently blew away the steam.

Regret?

My only regret is that I didn't see her true colors sooner.

In the room, only Julian and I remained.

The atmosphere was subtly awkward.

"Young Master Su," Julian broke the silence first. "What you mentioned earlier, about Star Shine's shares..."

"Five percent." I held up five fingers. "As long as you help me do one thing."

Julian’s eyes brightened instantly.

Although Star Shine Media was not a top-tier company, five percent of its shares were enough to propel him to the top, making him a person with real influence in the company.

"What is it?" he asked eagerly.

I put down the tea cup, leaned forward slightly, looked into his eyes, and said every word clearly.

"I want Vanessa to be ruined."

Julian’s pupils constricted violently.

He looked at me; there was shock and hesitation in his eyes, but more than that, there was an irrepressible excitement and ambition.

He knew his chance had arrived.

"Fine." He nodded and agreed almost without a second of thought. "But, what’s in it for me?"

"Besides the shares, I can also push you to be the lead actor in that movie." I said blandly. "The Su Corporation is also the biggest investor in that film."

Julian’s breathing grew heavy.

He looked at me as if looking at a god who could grant all his wishes.

"Young Master Su, what do you want me to do?" He licked his lips, his voice filled with impatience.

I took out my phone, clicked on a video, and pushed it toward him.

In the video was an intimate scene between Vanessa and a middle-aged man.

That man was none other than Vice President Wang.

"I want you to 'accidentally' leak this video."

Julian looked at the video, his eyes widening larger and larger.

He suddenly looked up at me, his voice trembling.

"This... this is..."

"This is the 'sincerity' she paid to trade for the endorsement." I leaned back on the sofa, my tone cold. "Now, I want you to make this 'sincerity' public."

Julian stared fixedly at the phone screen, beads of cold sweat seeping out on his forehead.

He knew that once this video exploded, Vanessa would be completely finished.

And he would step over her corpse to ascend the throne he had dreamed of.

"Alright." He took a deep breath, as if he had made some kind of decision. "I’ll do it."

I smiled with satisfaction.

"Very good." I took back the phone. "Once it's done, I will have my lawyer deliver the share transfer agreement and the movie contract to your hands."

Julian stood up excitedly and bowed deeply to me.

"Thank you, Young Master Su! Thank you, Young Master Su!"

I waved my hand, indicating he could leave.

He bowed and scraped as he retreated from the room.

In the room, the silence returned.

I picked up the tea, now slightly cool, and finished it in one gulp.

Vanessa, don’t you love standing under the spotlight the most?

This time, I’ll give you the biggest stage.

I’ll let you perform a grand show in front of the whole country.

The name of this show is:

"On the Destruction of a Female Celebrity."

Just as I was thinking this, my phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

I frowned and answered.

"Hello?"

On the other end of the line, a weary, elderly voice spoke:

"Is... is this Aiden? I am Vanessa’s mother."

Chapter 4

"Auntie, is there something you need?"

My voice betrayed no emotion, as if I were speaking to an irrelevant stranger.

The woman on the other end seemed choked by my cold tone; she paused for several seconds before continuing, her voice thick with tears.

"Aiden, please, I'm begging you, just let Vanessa go! She knows she was wrong; she really knows she was wrong!"

She started playing the emotional card, just as she had done at the dinner that day.

"She has suffered so much since she was a child to get where she is today; it hasn't been easy for her! Can't you consider the two years you spent together? She is the girl you once loved!"

"Once loved?" I repeated those two words softly, feeling an immense sense of irony. "Auntie, do you know how she 'loved' me?"

"I know, I know she was wrong, that she was confused!" Vanessa’s mother said eagerly. "She shouldn't have spoken nonsense, shouldn't have... shouldn't have done those things that hurt you. But she did it all for your future! In the entertainment industry, one is often not in control of their own fate!"

It was that same tired excuse about being "not in control."

"So, because one is not in control, one can comfortably enjoy my sacrifices while cursing me as a fool behind my back?"

"Because one is not in control, one can go entertain a fifty-year-old man just to get an endorsement?"

My voice turned cold abruptly, every word feeling like an icicle stabbing fiercely at the other end of the line.

Her mother's crying stopped dead.

She hadn't expected me to be so well-informed.

"You... what nonsense are you spouting! Our Vanessa is not that kind of person! You're slandering her!" Her voice turned sharp instantly, filled with the anger and shame of being exposed.

"Whether it is slander or not, you know, and Vanessa knows even better." I couldn't be bothered to waste any more breath on her. "If you called just to say these things, I don't think we have anything left to discuss."

"Aiden! You can't be this heartless!" she screamed. "What good will it do you to ruin Vanessa? Don't forget, she has things of yours in her hands too! If this blows up, it won't be good for anyone!"

Was this... a threat?

I laughed.

"Things of mine? Do you mean the gifts I willingly gave her, or the evidence I left behind from running around for her?"

I paused, my tone becoming playful.

"Or, perhaps, you mean the intimate photos and videos she secretly filmed of us when we were together?"

The other end of the line fell into a deathly silence.

I could clearly hear her mother gasp in shock.

"You... how do you know?" Her voice was trembling.

"Not only do I know, I know she backed those files up on her studio computer, in a folder named 'Spare Key'."

I leaned back in my chair and said slowly and methodically.

"Tell me, what would happen if I went to the police right now and reported that the great star Vanessa illegally stole and stored others' private data with the intent of extortion?"

"No! Don't!" She completely panicked, her voice filled with terror. "Aiden, I beg you! Don't call the police! We'll give everything back to you, we'll delete it all! Just let Vanessa off this once, please?"

"It's too late."

I spat out the two words coldly.

"From the moment she sent my personal memo to her fan group and let those lunatics cyberbully me, it was already too late."

"Aiden!"

"Beep... beep... beep..."

I hung up directly and blocked the number.

The world was finally completely quiet.

I looked at the night view outside the window, my eyes ice-cold.

Vanessa and her family always thought they could manipulate me using past affections and those backhanded tactics.

They were wrong.

They had no idea what I had been doing in the places they couldn't see over the past two years.

I had already used technical means to remotely wipe that "Spare Key" folder clean.

She had no cards left in her hand now.

And I held every one of her fatal weaknesses.

The following two days were calm and peaceful.

Vanessa’s side seemed to have vanished, showing no movement whatsoever.

I knew this was the calm before the storm.

She was thinking of counter-strategies and looking for a new backer.

And I was waiting.

Waiting for Julian to make his move, waiting for the bomb I had planted myself to be detonated.

On the morning of the third day, as I was reviewing documents in my office, my sister Chloe called.