Chapter 3

I shrugged and said, "I came here to shoot a show, but turns out I couldn't even get in."

Just then, the manager from Ascend Group, Derek Peabody, rushed over. He bent over and was sweating nervously as he heard what I said.

He said, "Ms. Steveson, Ms. Leonard, you didn't let us know you were coming. Sorry for the lack of hospitality from my staff!"

I smirked and joked, "Mr. Peabody, it really is hard to get a meeting with you."

After that, I turned to the attendant from earlier and gave him a faint smile. "So, can I take the elevator now?"

The manager standing nearby gave the attendant a slap across the face.

He snapped, "You have the nerve to offend your own boss? Who do you think you are?"

The attendant was so shocked he didn't even register the slap.

He stammered, "Wait, she's the boss?"

But Estelle still wasn't satisfied. She ordered, "Kick him out! And put his name on the blacklist. He's banned from every Ascend Group property!"

The attendant's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.

The manager nodded like crazy, terrified that Estelle and I might turn on him next.

Estelle handed her black card to the manager, who led us to the elevator with exaggerated respect.

Seeing the black card, it suddenly clicked for me.

I asked, "Hey, do you know someone named Alexia Burke?"

Estelle looked genuinely confused. "Who? Never heard of her."

I couldn't help but laugh. I told her, "But she said you gave her a black card as a meet-and-greet present for your sister-in-law."

Estelle let out a laugh, half pissed off, half amused.

She said, "You think I'd ever use a crappy card like that as a gift for my sister-in-law? What kind of clueless wannabe tries to use my name for clout?"

Estelle stormed into the elevator.

She said, "Mr. Peabody, go track down those people and tell them Iris is done with this lame show! And hurry up and find out what's up with that card!"

Seeing me at a loss, Estelle pulled me into a hug. "Sweetie, don't worry. We finally get to hang out. Let me take you shopping. I'll cover the breach fee!"

I wasn't worried about the fee.

But fine. The show clearly didn't care about me anyway. They haven't even called me all this time. Hanging out with Estelle sounded way better anyway.

But as we were walking, Estelle suddenly stopped and turned back to Derek.

She said, "Go deal with Alexia Burke. If my crazy brother finds out about this, he'll definitely blame me for not keeping Iris safe!"

Derek nodded frantically.

I pressed my fingers to my temples, feeling a headache coming on. This was definitely something Jasper couldn't find out about, or else...

After that, I wandered around with Estelle for a while, but then she got a call from her assistant and had to rush off to a meeting.

As soon as she left, there was a commotion outside Ascend Group.

I turned to look and realized it was the show's crew.

Alexia was the first to spot me and charged over, face full of rage.

She snapped, "Iris, you bitch!"

Security jumped in to block her path, but she just wouldn't let it go.

She demanded, "You and this manager are working together, aren't you? Who the hell says my gold card is fake?"

Derek jumped in to clear things up. "Ms. Burke, we've said this a bunch of times already. The machine checked your card over and over. It's definitely a fake."

The production crew had already turned off their cameras and got booted out, looking seriously pissed off.

I caught some whispers floating my way.

"How embarrassing, making a scene in public like that."

"She's not even someone, so why fake it? Who does she think she's fooling?"

I could hear it, and so could Alexia. She was absolutely fuming.

She said, "What the hell are you all gossiping about? Here's the real deal. This card was handed to me personally by the top dog at Ascend Group! He's just keeping his identity under wraps, so he let me borrow his sister's name for now!"

She continued, "Just wait and see. My husband's gonna show up for the third episode, and when he announces me as his wife on live TV, you'll all be eating your words!"

As soon as Alexia said that, the director's expression instantly shifted.

The fact that Jasper was set to appear in the third episode was still strictly under wraps. The director was the only one in on the secret.

Estelle's last name was also Leonard. Anyone with half a brain could figure out exactly who Alexia was talking about.

I was completely floored.

I'd always known Jasper had someone he couldn't let go of, a dream girl he kept hidden in his heart. But hearing Alexia talk with so much certainty, I couldn't help but wonder if she was the one.

When we got back to the villa, the show had set up, and Luke suddenly started acting all attentive around Alexia.

He was doing everything for her, big or small, never leaving her side.

The chat was pretty lively. [Speaking of this morning, after the manager came out, he just disappeared. Anyone got the scoop on what went down?]

[Got a friend on the inside who says Alexia Burke's black card is actually a fake!]