That afternoon, I sat in my office, watching the projection screen.Sera Hayes’ press conference began on time.She looked thinner, her face pale and somewhat gaunt, her eyes bloodshot.Liam Reed sat beside her, head bowed the entire time, looking meek and innocent.“First, I want to apologize to everyone who cares about me.”
Sera’s voice, hoarse as if she’d just been crying, came through the microphone.She began to speak of her pure love for music, how she was swept up by the torrent of commercialism, and how she struggled painfully against it.She spoke of Liam’s appearance, how he was like a ray of light, illuminating her dark world.Not a single word about anything I had done for her. She only referred to me, her fiancé of five years, soon to be her husband, as “my former agency” and “the shackles of capital.”
“I admit, Mr. Thorne is an excellent businessman. He single-handedly brought me to where I am today, and for that, I am grateful.”Then, her tone shifted, filled with grievance and accusation. “However, he controlled my work, my social interactions, even my thoughts! Who I met, what I said, what I wore—everything had to be approved by him!”“I was just his creation, a soulless puppet!”Liam, his face streaked with tears, sobbed into the camera, “It’s not Mr. Thorne’s fault… it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have appeared… Sera, I’m sorry…”The flashbulbs in the audience exploded, reporters frantically snapping photos.
In the livestream comments, her fans were going wild.[Sister has suffered too much! We won’t let you be wronged again!][My heart aches for her! So she’s been living under such oppression all this time!][That Alex Thorne is truly evil! Get out of the entertainment industry!][Support Sera’s solo career! Pursue true music!]Finally, Sera Hayes announced that she would be establishing her own studio, completely severing ties with my company.
“I will make the music I truly want to make, in my own way. It might be difficult, but I have Liam, and our child.”“That’s enough.”The press conference ended, and online public opinion completely exploded.I became public enemy number one.The company phones were ringing off the hook. Several younger artists I had personally groomed even subtly hinted through their agents that they wanted to terminate their contracts, fearing they’d be dragged down by me, the “evil capitalist.”
They were all quick to kick me while I was down. The ancients were certainly wise.I looked at that hypocritical face on the screen, my heart devoid of any warmth, only a chilling hatred remained.I wiped away the tears I hadn’t realized were falling and called for my assistant.“Notify Legal: All core personnel, first conference room, five minutes.”My assistant looked at me, his eyes full of worry. “Mr. Thorne…”I forced a smile, calm and resolute.“Notify Legal: All core personnel, first conference room, five minutes.”“I want her utterly ruined!”
