Chapter 45
She immediately called Julian.
She needed to confront Sebastian.
Sebastian summoned Lexi to the towering glass headquarters of Blackwood Entertainment, the white skyscraper piercing the New York skyline.
After layers of security checks and secretarial approvals, Lexi was finally allowed inside.
Normally, Sebastian came to her, but going to him was always a different kind of torture—a stark reminder of their unequal worlds.
As the glass doors swung open, Lauren lounged provocatively on Sebastian’s lap.
She smiled at Lexi with venomous sweetness.
“Lexi, you’ve got guts, showing up here for him,” she purred.
Lexi’s gaze hardened.
She had no time for their games.
“Mr. Blackwood, was my paycheck withdrawn by you? You sit atop an empire, yet you’re worried about my small earnings? Isn’t that… a bit much p>
Sebastian raised an eyebrow, motioning for Lauren to make him a coffee.
Reluctantly, Lauren obeyed, shooting Lexi a disdainful glare as she passed by.
Lexi squared her shoulders and looked straight into Sebastian’s dark eyes, demanding an answer.
“You clearly didn’t read our contract properly. As a Blackwood Entertainment talent, every penny you earn belongs to the company p>
He tossed a stack of contracts toward her.
Some slid across her face.
Lexi bent down to pick them up, remembering that each clause was oppressive, a contract designed to cage her from the start.
At the time, she had been duped by a real estate agent, collapsed on the street, and had no leverage to negotiate.
Sebastian couldn’t let her earn her own money—it would grant her freedom, wings to fly beyond his control.
And he knew about her online searches for apartments.
Every possibility had to be crushed before it even began.
“Sebastian, don’t think this can trap me. I will never submit to you!” Lexi snapped, flinging the contracts aside as she stormed out of his office.
Passing Lauren again, coffee in hand, Lexi emptied it into the trash.
She couldn’t even bear to look at people like her.
Sebastian clenched his fists, anger boiling, but remembered his sister’s warning.
There would be plenty of time for confrontation later.
Without the ability to earn from acting, Lexi took on side jobs.
After a few grueling days, exhaustion etched itself across her face.
When Julian came to see her, he froze for a moment.
“Lexi… you’ve lost so much weight,” he said, pinching her cheek gently.
Lexi met his gaze.
Despite the crisp suit, dark circles shadowed his eyes, a sign of the stress he’d endured running the new company.
“Julian… do you know a woman named Simone? Around thirty, very beautiful, elegant?” Lexi asked quietly, sipping juice.
Julian thought for a moment.
He knew most notable figures, but Simone?
He’d never heard of her.
Lexi decided not to pursue it further.
Julian had been busy with the company’s IPO.
No need to add to his burdens.
She would uncover Simone’s identity in time.
That evening was the premiere and press event for Moonlight and Shadows.
The media would be everywhere—a rare opportunity for Lexi.
Julian dropped her off, giving her careful instructions before leaving.
Lauren and her sister had already arrived, seated comfortably among the reporters and guests.
Before Lexi could make her way down the red carpet, her sister approached with a smile.
“Lexi, come stand with me for the interview p>
Lexi was the second lead, and her sister wasn’t even the fourth lead.
Aligning with Lexi over her own sister?
Something was brewing behind the scenes.
“Lexi, my corsage fell. Go to the dressing room and find it, quickly!” Lauren commanded with a haughty air, as if Lexi were her personal servant.
“I won’t. I have interviews soon. Let someone else do it,” Lexi replied, glancing at the clock.
Fifteen minutes until her exclusive coverage.
The assistant director, frustrated, snapped, “Lexi, go help her! It’s just a corsage p>
Lexi crossed her arms, unimpressed.
“Just a corsage? Fine. Doesn’t matter. If it’s not worn, then it’s not worn p>
Her nonchalance enraged the assistant director.
Finally, Lauren’s sister grabbed her hand, and the two of them started searching the dressing room together.
The corsage was tiny, nearly lost among Lauren’s extravagant accessories.
Lexi concentrated fully, unaware Isabella quietly slipped away.
Suddenly, the lights in the dressing room went out with a sharp pop.
Lexi’s heart skipped—she reached for her Isabella.
The safe room was pitch black, so silent that all Lexi could hear was the rapid pounding of her own heartbeat and the shallow gasps of her breath.
She fumbled in her purse for her phone, flicking on the light, but the small glow only illuminated the walls—Lauren was nowhere to be seen.
Rushing to the door, Lexi found it locked from the outside.
Everyone had gone to the gala; no one would pass by here.
Her calls would reach no one.
She dialed every number she could think of, only to find the signal dead.
Someone had deliberately jammed it.
Of course.
She should’ve known.
She’d been cornered by Lauren and her accomplice, her so-called sister.
Lexi slid down the door, her body melting against it, sinking to the floor in defeat.
She hugged her knees to her chest, burying her face, curling into a protective shell.
A soft chime sounded—her phone died.
And just like that, she was swallowed by darkness, motionless, like a statue carved from despair.
The oppressive silence dredged up childhood memories—hours spent alone in pitch-black rooms, monsters lurking in every shadow, ready to devour her whole.
Cold.
Lonely.
Terrifying.
Every scream and threat pressed on her chest.
Time blurred.
Her nightmares spilled into reality, echoing the same helpless terror she’d felt as a child.
Lexi let out a strangled scream, eyes snapping open… only to find herself lying on a hospital bed, the morning sun spilling through the window.
Tulips in full bloom adorned the sill.