Candida said, "I was prepared for any kind of chaos tonight-honestly, I can''t believe nothing happened."


    No one could me her for thinking that way. When you''re in the spotlight, trouble has a habit of finding you.


    Given all the vultures circling around Ste, it would''ve been more surprising if the evening had gone off without a hitch. Everyone had braced themselves, expecting some sort of incident.


    The real shock was that absolutely nothing went wrong.


    Abby spoke up, "Just because the concert''s over doesn''t mean we can let our guard down. The enemy might be waiting for us to rx before making their move."


    Antoney, Candida, and the others nodded in agreement.


    Ste nced at her watch. "It''s gettingte. The afterparty''s about to start. We should go-Neville and the others are probably waiting."


    Abby nodded. "Right, let''s get moving."


    Meanwhile, Simone and Aurora were leaving the concert hall, chatting as they walked.


    Simone said, "Your half-sister really has something special. After tonight, her reputation''s only going to soar. Even among the most privileged crowd, Ste''s aplishments stand out."


    She paused, scrolling through her phone. "She''s trending online again. People are starting to connect the dots—realizing Ste is Raven. Now, contestants from all over are watching her closely."


    Aurora barely reacted. For her, this was expected—her entire reason forpeting was to be defeated by Ste. She''d always had perspective when it came to things that didn''t truly matter.


    A little injustice? She could live with it.


    She smiled, "It''s a good thing. The Williams family has gained another star daughter."


    Simone let the subject drop and said nothing more.


    Outside the venue, Aurora turned to Simone. "Want toe over to my ce tonight?"


    Simone shook her head. "I think I''ll have ns with Joshua tomorrow." "Alright."


    The two were about to part ways when Aurora suddenly caught a glimpse of someone lurking nearby-moving quickly and suspiciously in their direction.


    A chill ran down her spine and, acting on instinct, she shoved Simone aside. "Watch out!"


    The moment she did, something sshed toward them, hitting Aurora''s arm. "Ah!"


    Simone''s face drained of color. "Aurora!"


    ...


    The emergency room was marked by the harsh, red glow of warning lights.


    When Ste and Joshua arrived at the hospital, it was the middle of the night. The hallway was crowded with anxious faces-Skyler and Jonathan Williams, Sellers and Sherman Burton, Simone, and several unfamiliar assistants.


    At the sound of footsteps, Skyler looked up.


    "Star, you''re here." He seemed older and more exhausted than usual. "What happened?" Ste asked.


    Jonathan recounted what he knew. "Aurora was lucky-she was wearing long sleeves and managed to block most of the acid with her purse. Otherwise, her entire arm might have been destroyed."


    Simone noticed Joshua trailing behind Ste and offered him a gentle smile. "Joshua, you made it."


    He didn''t respond or even nce her way.


    Ste nced at Joshua. She knew


    he wasn''t ignoring Simone on purpose. Tonight, he''d seemed distracted, distant-ever since the afterparty. Something was clearly weighing on his mind, but she had no idea what it could be.