?Chapter 418:


    People only remembered winners — not those who got outyed and outshone. She had to change how everyone saw her. There was no way she was going to be remembered as the one who got beaten by Maia in that pianopetition!


    Her fingers curled around her phone. Her nails dug into her palm. She had made up her mind — she would catch Maia in the act and ruin her. From then on, whenever people mentioned Maia, all they would talk about was how shameless she was!


    Meanwhile, back in his suite, udius sat alone at his desk, the quiet ticking of the clock echoing through the room. His long fingers tapped rhythmically against the polished wood, lost in thought.


    After some contemtion, he realized that he couldn’t let Maia’s reputation be tarnished.


    Maia would eventually be his woman, and tonight’s incident would leave a stain on her name — and even on the Cooper Group and family. udius might not care about this, but his father, Kolton, certainly would.


    His eyes darkened as he came to a decision.


    At the Starlight Hotel, the floor disy ticked steadily downward. A soft chime rang out as the elevator reached the ground floor, and the doors began to slide open.


    Rosanna stepped forward — but froze at the sound of footsteps rushing up behind her.


    She turned, startled. A group of men in sleek ck suits were storming down the hall, their movements swift and purposeful.


    At the front, a man in sunsses moved with brutal precision. Without hesitation, he lunged and tackled her to the floor.


    Moments earlier, their boss, udius, had given the order — throwing this crazy woman out.


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    “Ahh!” Rosanna shrieked as her body mmed hard onto the marble floor. Pain exploded in her hip, sharp and immediate. “What are you doing? Let me go! Help!”


    But no one came. The hotel manager, just a few feet away, watched for a brief moment — then calmly turned his head, pretending not to see a thing.


    He knew better. These men were from the Cooper Group.


    After all, the Starlight Hotel was, in fact, one of the Cooper Group’s properties.


    “Apologies,” one of the men said, his tone clipped and cold. “You need to leave. Now.”


    Before Rosanna could protest again, two of them seized her by the arms and began dragging her toward the entrance.


    “Let go of me! What gives you the right to—” Before she could finish her words, Rosanna was tossed out onto the pavement like a sack of clothes. Rosanna scrambled up, brushing dust from her dress, her fury mounting. “What right do you have to throw me out? This is a public hotel! I have every right to be here!”


    The man in sunsses simply folded his arms, his expression unreadable. The other bodyguards stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a wall between her and the entrance.


    Rosanna’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Her eyes gleamed with resentment as she backed away. “You got lucky this time, Maia,” she muttered through gritted teeth. “But this night… this entire disaster of a night… I swear, I will make you pay.”


    In thevish presidential suite on the top floor, the atmosphere was vastly different. Chris moved about the room with casual ease, as though it were his private residence. He sauntered over to the bar, pulled out a bottle of red wine, and poured two sses.


    He handed one to Maia, the stem between his fingers as he smiled.


    “Try this,” he said. “It has a smooth blend, slightly tart, slightly sweet. Not as refined as the bottle Hurst brought tonight, but it holds its own.”


    Maia epted the ss but set it on the table without taking a sip. She looked at him squarely, her eyes clear and expectant. “You still have not answered my question from earlier.”


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