In a coffee shop, Serena was waiting for someone.


    In the past, her patience had always been limited, but now, she sat quietly and calmly. Beside her was a shopping bag containing a new designer handbag.


    A short whileter, a middle-aged woman walked in. Though her appearance was unremarkable, her eyes held a sharp, capable gleam. Upon seeing Serena, she immediately broke into a warm smile and approached. "Miss Goodwin, have you been waiting long?"


    Serena smiled slightly. "No, please have a seat, Leah."


    via was Vanessa''s first assistant in Drexford. However, sheter left to pursue her own career and was now a manager for several artists in the country.


    After via sat down, Serena pushed the shopping bag toward her. "This is a gift for you. Thank you for agreeing to meet."


    via feigned surprise, covering her mouth, but epted the gift without hesitation. "Miss Goodwin, you''re too kind. Whatever you want to know, I''ll tell you everything."


    Serena stirred her coffee, her tone even. "I want to know everything about what happened between Vanessa and my brother back then. Anything you can remember."


    via seemed to have guessed that Serena and Vanessa had fallen out. After all, the fact that Vanessa was now epting anymercial she could get was a clear sign of her decline.


    Without the Goodwin family''s backing, Vanessa couldn''t make much money from ying the piano alone.


    via had once suggested she enter the domestic film industry, only to be scornfully rejected by Vanessa on the spot.


    via took a sip of her coffee. "Back then, Miss Shannon certainly put a lot of effort into pursuing Mr. Goodwin. She didn''t just study his preferences; she knew yours and your mother''s inside and out as well."


    "Go on," Serena encouraged her. "How did she put effort into winning over my brother?"


    el.ned


    via lowered her voice. "Oh, her specialty was staging ''idental'' encounters. She would have me out Mr. Goodwin''s schedule in advance, then she would dress up exquisitely and appear at the same location. I remember one time, she had me bribe a hotel staff member to find out Mr. Goodwin''s toom number. She went up in the middle of the night wearing a sexy slip dress."


    Serena''s brows furrowed. "What was my brother''s reaction?"


    "I''m not sure, but she came back down in about ten minutes, followed by Mr. Goodwin''s bodyguards. She didn''t look too happy, so I assume she was asked to leave," via said. "But she told me that as long as she persisted, she would eventually win Mr. Goodwin over."


    "Where did she get that confidence?" Serena scoffed.


    "She said all men are visual creatures. As long as she was beautiful and sexy enough, Mr. Goodwin would eventually fall for her." via could still remember how the twenty-something Vanessa had been.


    Serena clenched her fists. As it turned out, Vanessa had indeed seeded in destroying her brother''s marriage.


    And back then, she had even helped Vanessa by speaking well of her in front of their mother. The thought of it now made her want to p herself.


    "She was quite the actress. ying the victim and feigning fainting spells were her go-to moves. One time, she called and demanded Mr. Goodwin personally take her to the hospital. I remember your brother sent his assistant instead At the hospital, she deliberately took a cold shower and ended up with a fever of a hundred and four, nearly passing out."


    Serena took a deep breath. She finally understood why her brother had to personally carry her and stay with her time and again. Vanessa had relentlessly tested his boundaries, growing more audacious with each sess.


    "Anything else?" Serena asked.


    "She also used to post ambiguous photos and captions on social


    media to make people


    misunderstand her rtionship with Mr. Goodwin. Especially her


    ssmates from The Arts


    Institute-every single one of them thought she was Mr. Goodwin''s mistress." As, she spoke, via pulled out her phone and showed her a few screenshots. "Look, take this photo for example. She found out in advance that Mr. Goodwin was meeting a client here. She took the opportunity to go over and say hello, then had me take a picture of her from a specific angle, making it look like Mr. Goodwin had taken her to dinner at the restaurant."