Twisted Ties of Love

Chapter 332

"The recording for 'Here Comes the Superstars' is on, and upon learning that Graham had set Izabella up for the show, Kristin was livid and confronted him.

"Graham, have you lost your marbles? Why wouldn't you listen to me? I've already let go of the idea of getting Izabella out, but now you are getting her on a show. Do you think I'm not fierce enough to win her over and make double the money? Dream on! If you dare to promote Izabella, I'll spill all the dirty laundry you've been hiding!"

Sitting on the studio couch, Graham stayed silent, absorbing Kristin's rant.

Finally, at her last sentence, Graham lost his patience and slammed his teacup on the table, shattering it to pieces.

Glass shards flew everywhere, and he glared at Kristin, his face stormy.

Graham had been a manager for years, and he had a temper. His sudden outburst left Kristin speechless, not knowing how to respond.

"The Izabella of now is not the Izabella of the past. I'd advise you not to mess with her, or you'll be asking for trouble."

Kristin's face twisted. She knew Izabella had changed, and it was exactly this change that scared her.

Take Izabella's audition last time, for instance. Her brilliant acting skills could easily shine on any stage.

She was afraid of Izabella rising to fame, of her becoming more famous than her!

Kristin couldn't stand it, whether it was Izabella's face, acting, or name!

After venting his anger, Graham gradually calmed down.

Izabella was a threat to him, too, as she had dirt on him. The best way would be to get rid of her quietly.

He and Kristin shared common interests and goals, and this was not the time for them to argue.

Grinding her teeth, Kristin asked, "So what now? Are we going to let her shine on this show and earn fame because of her acting skills?"

Graham snorted in contempt. "Hiding her dirty past won't be easy. Acting on stage is different from auditioning, don't worry, I've got a plan."

"What is it?"

"The show decides on the pairing of actors by drawing lots. We can tamper with it here; I've already got my people among the staff there. Ariana is also in the production team, so we don't have to lift a finger."

Ariana now despised Izabella for stealing her role. This was why she joined 'Here Comes the Superstars'. They needed to pull the strings behind the scenes and blow things up.

Over the next few days, Izabella was busy recording the show. The actor's rank was determined by the audience's rating, from S to D, a total of five ranks. Those who ended up with a D rank didn't even have the privilege to choose scripts.

Izabella ended up with a D rank, barely having the chance to appear for a day.

After the S, A, and B rank actors had chosen their scripts, the remaining actors without scripts were to draw lots to choose their opponents; whoever they drew would be who they competed with on stage.

This was no longer a matter of luck; the rules of the show were downright devilish.

Making the remaining C and D rank actors draw lots to act with S, A, and B rank actors was like making rookies compete with professionals; the result was bound to be a defeat.

The remaining actors had mediocre acting skills, no significant works, and were not particularly liked by the audience. They had to compete with seasoned actors, and even given many chances, they would not succeed.

Many were already contemplating quitting. Izabella quietly sat in the corner, watching all this, thinking about what Mr. Kane had said to her a few days ago.

"This is so unfair..." someone complained, "How could I possibly win? Is this how they treat me for joining a show?"

The entertainment industry is not a place for fairness. Those with skills will always be famous, and that's the fairest it gets.

'Here Comes the Superstars' is a show that thrives on acting skills; no one would let you take shortcuts, win by crying, or play the victim. Moaning about it being unfair, would anyone change the rules for you?

Sure enough, the director's team watched quietly, instructing the camera operators to capture every detail of everyone's expressions.

When the camera focused on Izabella, it froze.

There were no unnecessary expressions on her face. Resting her chin on her hand, she seemed a little lost in thought, yet that alone was enough to captivate, like a Queen of the Night-blooming quietly in a corner.

Feeling someone filming her, Izabella lifted her chin to meet the camera, effortlessly flashing a confident smile.

The cameraman's heart skipped a beat, then started pounding uncontrollably. He had a hunch that even this casual shot of Izabella would create quite a stir on the show.

In sharp contrast to everyone else on the scene, Izabella was neither flustered nor self-pitying; she simply watched everything unfold like a bystander.

Izabella lacked empathy; she didn't care about the feelings of those around her. She was thoroughly enjoying her role as an observer.

Mr. Kane had no patience to soothe these actors. He had said before his show didn't need fragile stars.

"Those who want to stay can draw lots, but for those who think it's unfair, we won't force you to stay!"

As his words fell, the actors who were sighing moments ago fell silent, obediently drawing lots when the staff brought them over, praying in their hearts to be allocated to B or A rank, just not S rank, or they would be sent home after one round.

As Izabella was last in line, she didn't need to draw lots. Opening her lot, she saw it was S rank Harper, an actor from the theater, a seasoned performer who had won many awards.

A spark of eager anticipation flashed in Izabella's eyes. She relished challenges like this.

Harper's script was 'Golden Age' and Harper won awards for his role as the male lead in the play.

Just as Izabella was trying to look up information about the script, a voice reached her ears.

"Ariana, you're an A-level; which script did you pick?"

"Time. My senior brother picked time too, so I naturally tag along."

"You two have such good chemistry, and your acting skills are quite good. Whoever gets drawn into your group is doomed..."

Izabella followed the sound and saw Ariana, whom she recognized from the fan photos she saw on the show.

Ariana wasn't as pretty as her photos suggested, but she still stood out among the crowd. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Feeling watched, Ariana lifted her head, her gaze finally falling on Izabella after scanning the room. She paused, then cracked a smirk.

Upon hearing that Izabella was participating in "Here Comes the Superstars", Ariana decided to drop all her current projects to join this variety show.

She wanted to see just how bad Brad York's taste was.

Ariana joined the show to prove herself and make Izabella regret snatching her role, hoping to make the "Blood Ties" crew beg for her return.

Instantly, Izabella saw the greed in Ariana's eyes and her unwavering confidence.

Confident girls were beautiful, but blind confidence wasn't a good thing.

There was a week of preparation time before the performance. Izabella got the script from the staff, a classic segment cut from a movie.

Izabella's task was to memorize the lines, familiarize herself with the plot, and present a perfect stage under the guidance of the acting teacher and opponent actor within a week.

They had seven days to rehearse together; they could only discover their strengths and weaknesses through this process.

Izabella started familiarizing herself with the script, where she would play the role of the wicked woman, Danielle.

Danielle was a girl raised in a brothel, a master of disguise, who seemed harmless but had plotted for three years to set the brothel on fire, killing thirty-eight people.

The male lead, Federic, first met her during this fire. He took pity on her and took her home as a sister.

Little did he know this "sister" had other ideas about him from the start.

Danielle had spent her life in darkness, thinking the fire would end it all, but Federic saved her.

She had never been treated so kindly in her 15 years of life and soon developed genuine feelings for him.

She felt too tainted to be with Federic but couldn't resist drawing closer to him, the only light in her dark world.

Danielle carefully concealed this secret, thinking she could live forever with Federic as "siblings", until his fiancée "Melinda" appeared.

Melinda had not suffered the same tragic fate as Danielle; she was a pampered lady, born noble.

She was beautiful and kind; everyone loved Melinda, including Federic.

Everyone said Federic and Melinda were a couple.

Danielle plunged into despair, watching the two like a rat in the darkness. Jealousy took over, leading her to make one irreparable mistake after another.

She drugged Melinda, arranged for her to be violated, and used the underworld to ruin the Navarro family, reducing the once noble woman to a "prostitute" like herself. Melinda eventually committed suicide, and there was no more enviable Melinda in the world.

Federic found out the truth after Melinda's death. He couldn't believe his obedient sister could be so cruel. And it was he who brought Danielle home, leading to Melinda's death and the loss of dozens of lives in the Navarro family.

Danielle confessed when the truth came out, her eyes full of obsession for this "brother".

"I knew this day would come. Brother, do you hate me now? Hate me enough to kill me? But I'm not wrong; I just love you so much. You shouldn't have saved me, saved me just to abandon me. If there was no Melinda, you would be my brother forever."

"I won't force you to marry me, brother. We can just be the close siblings we used to be. Oh, do you know why mom suddenly got sick? It's because I poisoned her, and the antidote must be taken daily. If you don't agree, she may not have another breath."

Danielle always had a backup plan; she wanted Federic desperately, wanted to destroy his character, imprison his body.

But Federic took a surprising step. In Danielle's horror, he lifted his gun and shot himself.

The story ended with Danielle holding Federic's blood-stained body, crying and laughing.

"You're dead, but you're still my brother, the brother I will always love the most."

Izabella finished reading the script in one breath and let out a long sigh. The script she got was from Danielle's point of view; she would have to immerse herself completely to bring this character to life.

To be honest, Danielle, the wicked woman, was a very appealing character to the audience, but her mentality was extremely abnormal.