"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I never thought she''d be this wild. So many men-how does she even keep up?"


    "These socialites look so morous on the outside, but who knew their private lives were this depraved?"


    "Hey, do you think Aurora''s like that too, behind closed doors?"<fn45ff> Official source is fι?dnοvel</fn45ff>


    "Hard to say, honestly."


    "Hey, look-there she is, the star of the show!"


    "With a face and body like that... heh, I wouldn''t mind being one of her ythings myself."


    The room buzzed with whispers some shocked, some gossipy, some yful, and a few with clear malice.


    Within this elite circle, Simone was famous in her own right.


    Her brother was Leonard Lerman, her best friend was Aurora, and she was stunningly beautiful—her reputation rivaled Aurora''s by any measure.


    Right now, she stood by Aurora''s side, but all eyes were fixed squarely on Simone.


    She stared, frozen, at the giant screen-her face drained of color, legs wobbling so badly she looked ready to copse.


    Queenie, standing nearby, rushed to steady Simone, saving her from


    embarrassing herself in front of the crowd.


    Aurora was caught off guard for a moment, too.


    But she recovered quickly.


    "Turn off the screen and speakers-now!" she ordered.


    The staff scrambled toply, but this was no ordinary ballroom-the Williams family''s parties were events of the year, fully outfitted with LCD screens and projectors everywhere.


    No matter where you looked, the images zed from every wall.


    Outside, night had already fallen, and with a hall this packed, there was no way to simply cut the power.


    The staff ran in circles, nearly in tears.


    It was impossible there were just too many screens.


    In a shadowy corner, Rachel Pearce watched the chaos below, a sly smile curling on her lips.


    She picked up her phone and said quietly, "Colby, thanks for your help tonight. When I''m next in Silverthorne, I''ll make sure to return the favor."


    Meanwhile, Joshua couldn''t care less about how many men Simone might have tangled with.


    He led Keen straight to Haynes. "Keen shouldn''t be here. Take him outside for now."


    Haynes nced up at the screen, his expression icy andposed.


    "I understand."


    Joshua nodded and was about to leave when his phone buzzed softly in his pocket.


    He looked down-Ste was calling.


    But the phone only rang once before the call dropped.


    A shadow crossed Joshua''s dark eyes.


    He called her back.


    The phone rang and rang-no answer.


    His face grew even colder.


    If nothing had happened to Ste, there was no way she wouldn''t pick up.


    Jaw clenched, phone gripped tight, he was about to go find her when he


    suddenly spotted Jonathan Ying


    down the stairs.  s


    Joshua''s eyes narrowed. He strode over and grabbed Jonathan by the cor his handsome face like carved marble under ayer of frost  s


    "Where''s Star? Weren''t you with her?"


    Jonathan stared at him, baffled. "Star''s upstairs, signing a contract. Why are you freaking out?"


    "Signing a contract? With who?"


    Joshua''s


    gaze was jey his presence


    radiating a quiet Corby.


    pressed down on


    s


    Jonathan, unconsciously cowed, answered, "Shawn."


    As soon as the words left his mouth, Jonathan realized what he''d done.


    Why was he letting Joshua interrogate him?


    Joshua''s expression darkened further.


    "Where are they? Take me to them—now."


    Jonathan shoved Joshua''s hand off his cor, scowling. "Why the hell should I


    listen to you?"