Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Cecilia Sterling Loses Her Temper
Her roommates all chimed in to comfort her, and Suzanne Sawyer’s gloomy mood, which had persisted for days, finally lifted.
But then, someone noticed something was off.
"Wait a minute, Isolde. They announced so many of the main actors, but why not the one playing Flora? Flora is at least the third or fourth female lead, right? They even announced the third and fourth male leads. Lily Sterling isn’t playing Flora, is she?"
Suzanne Sawyer couldn’t help but sneer, her tone certain. "Impossible. I specifically checked the online leaks. From start to finish, the only person they were in contact with for the role of Flora was Charlotte Travis. It has to be her!"
"But Charlotte Travis wasn’t at the press conference either!"
Suzanne Sawyer looked at them and asked, "Then she must have had other work and couldn’t make it. Between Charlotte Travis and Lily Sterling, neither of whom were there, who do you think is more likely to play Flora?"
Her roommates looked at each other, then said in unison, "It’s definitely Charlotte Travis."
Suzanne Sawyer smiled, satisfied. "There you have it."
’As long as Lily isn’t playing an important role, I don’t care who she ends up playing.’
Estelle Goodman had class today and wasn’t in the dorm. Cecilia Sterling watched the press conference livestream by herself. The two-hour event was nearly over, and she still hadn’t seen her sister appear. She immediately dialed James Lockwood’s number.
As soon as the call connected, James Lockwood greeted her cheerfully, "Hello, Miss Sterling."
"I’m not doing well!" Cecilia Sterling’s first words were a direct accusation. "Mr. Lockwood, I’m asking you, why wasn’t my sister on stage at the press conference before the production launch today?"
James Lockwood’s voice faltered. He was clearly out of the loop. Then, shocked, he said, "That’s impossible! I saw the plan for the press conference. I remember your sister’s name was on the list for the main creative team. How could she not have been on stage?"
Cecilia Sterling’s tone turned cold. "I’ve been watching the livestream for two hours. The conference is about to end. Mr. Lockwood, as the producer, weren’t you on site?"
Sensing Cecilia Sterling’s displeasure, James Lockwood quickly explained, "It’s like this, Miss Sterling. I had another important project to discuss today, so I wasn’t on site. But we have a very professional team there. Logically, they wouldn’t make such a basic mistake. There might be some kind of misunderstanding."
"Please, don’t be angry yet. Give me five minutes to make a call and find out what’s going on. I’ll call you back in five minutes."
After hanging up, Cecilia Sterling took a deep breath to calm her anger, then called her sister.
"We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable."
Cecilia Sterling’s brow furrowed. She tried calling a few more times, but still couldn’t get through, which made her nervous.
Just as she was about to head to the venue herself, her sister called back.
"Sis, I left too early and my phone died. I just borrowed a power bank from someone on the street and saw the text alert that you’d called."
Lily Sterling’s voice sounded fine, but Cecilia Sterling seized on a key detail in her words: she had borrowed a power bank on the street. This meant she wasn’t at the press conference venue.
"Isn’t today the press conference? You didn’t go?" Cecilia asked.
There was silence on the other end of the line. A moment later, Lily Sterling finally said, "I went. I just came out. There was a situation on site, so I didn’t go on stage. Sis, you watched the livestream, didn’t you..."
"What exactly happened?" Cecilia could tell her sister was holding something back, and her heart ached for her.
But Lily Sterling just said, "To be honest, I don’t know what happened either. I just didn’t get to go on stage."
She really didn’t know what had happened.
Cecilia Sterling’s gaze darkened. She seemed to have guessed that her sister had been treated unfairly. Controlling her emotions, she said, "Don’t run around. Head back to school first."
"Okay, Sis. I’m fine. Ms. Iris Underwood said that for a newcomer, getting too much exposure too early isn’t necessarily a good thing. It’s better to stun the audience with your character on screen. I think she has a point," Lily Sterling said, trying to sound cheerful.
Hearing this, Cecilia went along with it. "It’s good that you can think of it that way."
’Even if there’s truth to those words, the fact remains that my sister was treated differently. I can’t let her be bullied for no reason!’
After she hung up, James Lockwood called back. When she answered, his voice was grave. "Miss Sterling, I’m sorry. I’ve just gotten a handle on the situation. There was a problem with the on-site arrangements. It was an oversight by the staff."
Cecilia sneered. As an investor, she could be polite and courteous to James Lockwood. But as Lily Sterling’s sister, she wasn’t about to swallow this. "Mr. Lockwood, do you even believe the words coming out of your own mouth? For such an important press conference, how many times are the procedures rehearsed beforehand? How many times are the details confirmed?"
"And in the end, no one noticed a person was missing from the stage, and you’re telling me it was a staff oversight? Is my sister a needle and thread? A fill light? Is she something that can just be overlooked?"
"That’s not what I meant, Miss Sterling. I’m truly sorry. Please, calm down," James Lockwood pleaded.
But Cecilia was already burning with rage. The anger welling in her chest was immense. This was the angriest she had been since she’d returned to her 20-year-old self!
"Let me tell you something, Mr. Lockwood. I invested in your show entirely for my sister’s sake. Even if this show bombs and I lose every last cent of my ten thousand yuan, I, Cecilia Sterling, wouldn’t bat an eye. But if I spend my money just to have my sister get wronged, then there is no way I’m letting this go!"
"I’ll be at the press conference venue within the hour. The event may be over, but this isn’t! You must give me a satisfactory explanation, or I’m pulling my investment on the spot and I’m done playing this game with you!"
Cecilia said it all in one breath and hung up, giving James Lockwood no chance to explain.
Her heart POUNDED with anger. She turned, changed her clothes, and stormed out the door.
On the way, regret began to set in. She should have gone with her sister today. She had thought it was a sure thing, but she never expected such a mess to pop up.
’The entertainment industry, indeed.’
「About forty minutes later」
Cecilia Sterling arrived at the press conference venue. The event had already "successfully" concluded. Related news reports were already trending, and every actor had one or two popular hashtags—a golden opportunity for exposure.
Most of the people on site had already left, and the stage was mostly dismantled. Cecilia didn’t see James Lockwood and was about to call him when she saw him jogging over, arriving late with a forehead beaded in sweat.
"Miss Sterling, my apologies. I came all the way from Sunstone District," James Lockwood said, his face full of apology. He was genuinely nervous inside.
After all, in his previous interactions with Cecilia Sterling, she had always given him the impression of being calm, composed, and straightforward. He had never seen her as furious as she was today.
Especially when Cecilia had threatened to pull her investment over the phone. He had been so scared that he dropped everything and rushed over.
"President Lockwood, what are you doing here?"
Tom Chase, who was handling the cleanup, saw James Lockwood and walked over in surprise. Then he said with a grin, "You’re only just getting here now that it’s over? Don’t worry, President Lockwood, it went great! Super smooth!"
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