Chapter 10
Grant thought that if he told Celeste he could give her money, maybe she’d be willing to take the fall for Chole.
He was thinking to himself, an idea popping into his head. He turned to Chloe and said, “She’s broke right now. We just need to offer her 300 thousand dollars.
“If she’s willing to take the blame for everything, she’ll probably jump at the chance.”
In his mind. Celeste came from a poor family and had a sick brother to take care of. Now that she was used to living the good life, there was no way she’d want to go back to struggling.
So, he figured as long as the money was good, she’d do anything. She’d take the fall for Chloe’s plagiarism without a second thought. She might even screw up even bigger if the price was right.
Thinking this through, Grant turned to Chloe and gave the command. “Get in touch with her right now. Tell her to show up at the press conference and take the blame for all the plagiarism stuff.
Chloe nodded and quickly dialed Celeste’s number.
On the other end of the line, Chloe felt her heart race as the phone rang. She silently prayed that Celeste would pick up.
Just as the call was about to end, Celeste’s voice finally
“SB.
came through. “Hello!”
you finally answered! I really need to talk to you. Are you free?” Chloe asked, her voice desperate.
Celeste had just exposed Chloe for plagiarizing her song under the name Yesenia, and now Chloe was calling her
‘Could it be about that? Celeste wondered. She smirked, taking another sip of her coffee.
“Spit it out,” she said, obviously annoyed.
Chloe had the speakerphone on, so both Grant and Eleanor heard Celeste’s tone and immediately frowned, clearly irritated.
What happened to her? Why is she acting like this? they thought, confused.
Chloe, embarrassed by Celeste’s attitude, tried to keep it together and said, “Sis, did you see the news about me being accused of plagiarism?”
“Yeah, I saw it,” Celeste replied, her voice short.
“Well, after reading it, you must recognize that song, right? It’s the one you gave me. Now the real songwriter is accusing me of stealing
“Everyone’s calling me a’plagiarist, but you’re the one who actually stole it
“So, can you please come to the press conference with me and clear this up? Just say it was your song, and I had no idea before you gave
it to me.
Celeste let out a mocking laugh. “Chloe, you took my song behind my back, and now you’re caught for stealing Yesenia’s work.
“And instead of owning up to it, you want me to take the blame for you? How low can you be
Chloe’s face turned red as Celeste roasted her. She gripped the phone tightly, “Before you call me shameless, maybe take a look at yourself. You’re the one who plagiarized the song in the first place.”
Celeste scoffed: Tm not a celebrity, okay? If I copied a song and sang it, who cares? But you–you’re a professional artist, and instead of writing your own music, you snuck into my room, took my notebook, and stole my song, thinking it was yours.
“Now you’ve messed up because of your own greed. And instead of apologizing to me and to Yesenia, you’re trying to dump the blame. o me. How disgusting.”
“L” Chloe felt her eyes well up, overwhelmed by the situation. She had never been in this kind of mess before and didn’t know what to
do
She thought if she just offered Celeste some money, everything would be fine.
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Chapter 10
But she had no idea the song wasn’t even Celeste’s–it was Yesenia’s, a huge name in the industry.
Chloe was furing inside, but she still had to swallow her pride and beg Celeste because her whole career was on the line. “Sis, I know I messed up big time by taking your composition book.
“I’m really sorry. Look, can you please help me out? Or, if you don’t mind. I’ll pay you to take the fall for me.”
Celeste gave
her a cold look, not even flinching as she spoke. “Help you out? How much are you willing to pay?”
Chole couldn’t help but feel smug. Just like Dad said, as long as I offer Celeste money, she’ll definitely take the fall for me”
Chloe hesitated, then blurted out, “How about 300 thousand dollars!”
Celeste raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. Is that a joke? She thought Chloe was seriously out of her mind.
Celeste just scoffed, the corner of her mouth curling into a smirk. “Nah. I want 30 million.”
Chloe’s jaw practically hit the floor. What the hell? Is she serious? 30 million? Why not just rob a bank?”
In all her time in the industry, she’d only earned a few hundred thousand, and now Celeste wants 30 million.
Celeste, that’s a bit too much, don’t you think? I… I don’t have that kind of money,” she said.
Celeste’s tone was lazy but dead serious. “Yeah, I know you haven’t made that kind of cash, but your dad has. Go ask him for it. Once the money’s in, we’ll go to the press conference together.”
With that, Celeste hung up the phone, leaving Chloe furious and helpless.
Chloe stood there, shaking with anger, clutching her phone. Tears filled her eyes as she rushed to her dad.
“Dad!” she called out
Her eyes red with frustration, Chloe turned to her father, pleading with him to give her 30 million dollars.
Meanwhile, in Ravenshire, Celeste hung up the phone, took a last sip of her coffee with a satisfied grin, paid the bill, and strolled out
Just as she stepped onto the street, she saw an old man collapse, struggling to breathe–looks like a heart attack.
He tried to ask the people around him for help, but they all avoided him, probably scared of getting involved.
Celeste w was quick on her feet. She rushed over to him. “Grandpa, do you have your meds?“
The old man shook, trying to speak. “I… forgot…”
Celesie’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly pulled out the heart medication she’d packed for Declan and gave it to him.
After taking the meds, the old man’s breathing steadied, and the chest pain disappeared.
He looked at Celeste, completely stunned. “Kid, what the hell is this medicine? I feel so much better, my heart stopped hurting right
after I took it!”
Celeste grinned, explaining casually, “It’s a special heart medication. If you’ve got heart problems, it’ll ease the pain right away.”
The old man was in awe. He’d tried every heart medication under the sun, but none of them worked that fast.
And
Wid