Erica chimed in, "Right now, with half the entertainment industry's resources in their hands, their artists are already strained. If they take our deals too, those artists will be run into the ground. Even if they worked 24/7, they wouldn't be able to handle that kind of workload.""To capitalists, artists are just tools to make money. They couldn't care less about how the tools feel. And since those artists are mostly rookies, their rates are relatively low. After layers of exploitation, the pay they take home won't match the work they're doing," Debra replied. "Meanwhile, our artists are enjoying paid vacations for two months, traveling and relaxing. Do you think the Buchan Group's artists will feel okay with that? These are skilled professionals, but they're stuck doing assembly-line work. With such intense workloads, their performance will inevitably suffer, and the quality of their work will drop. For artists, no good work means no staying power. Their popularity will fade, and a
Chapter 1"Get the defibrillator! Increase the voltage!""Doctor! The patient is experiencing massive bleeding, and the A-type blood from the blood bank was just urgently taken away."The intern nurse's hands were covered in blood, and she trembled.The operating room reeked of blood.She had never seen so much blood before.At that moment, a thought flashed through her mind.'Who would suddenly take away A-type blood from the blood bank?'The woman lying on the bed was pale. Her lips were dry, and her eyes started to lose focus. "Juan...""What?""Juan Nichols..."The intern nurse made out the name murmured by Debra Frazier.Juan Nichols was the most influential businessman in Seamar City.The doctor was on the verge of collapse. He dialed the wrong number three times before finally getting it right. He quickly pleaded with the person on the other end of the phone, "Mr. Nichols, your wife is experiencing massive bleeding, but the blood from the blood bank has been taken a
Chapter 2Juan also looked over.A red figure stood out in the crowd.Debra, clad in a burgundy dress, seemed to captivate hearts with every gesture. Cameras flashed at her like she was a reigning superstar walking the red carpet.'Debra?'Juan took a moment to recognize her.In the past, Debra preferred light makeup and plain dresses. This was the first time Juan had seen her like this.Seeing Debra for the first time, Shelia was filled with jealousy.Compared to the alluring Debra, she seemed too plain."Debra looks stunning."Shelia's tone carried a subtle envy.Debra spotted them and walked over.Shelia thought Debra, unaware of her relationship with Juan, would be surprised or awkward, but Debra was poised and smiling."Mrs. Nichols is here. Who's the lady beside Mr. Nichols?" whispered a reporter.Debra approached, linking her arm with Juan's, and extended a hand towards Shelia. "You must be Shelia mentioned by Juan. Nice to meet you! I'm Debra. You can call me Mrs.
Chapter 3Due to this episode, Juan's attention was solely on Debra. Shelia's performance was completely ignored.When the auction ended, Debra was about to leave when she bumped into Juan and Shelia."Debra, if you don't understand real estate, don't mess around," Juan said bluntly.Shelia chimed in, "Yeah, Debra. Your actions have cost Mr. Nichols ten billion dollars."Debra chuckled, "Miss Miles, you misunderstand. This piece of land is mine to buy. What does it have to do with Juan?"Shelia blurted out, "But that's ten billion dollars.""It's just pocket change for me, not to mention for her."From not far away, Randy's voice came. "Isn't that right, Ms. Frazier?"Debra caught sight of Marion and said, "It's just a plaything for purchase."Shelia blushed with embarrassment.Ten billion dollars meant nothing to Juan and Debra.In front of these people, Shelia felt inferior."Heard Mr. Nichols got married. Is the lady beside him Mrs. Nichols?" Marion chimed in.Shelia b
Chapter 4The room fell silent for a moment. Marion smirked and said, "Mrs. Nichols, you can't wrongly accuse good people.""Yeah, we're all legitimate businessmen," Randy chimed in."In the realm of legitimate business, it's not up to me to judge. But I think Juan might be interested," Debra said. "I'm just a clueless rich girl, while Juan isn't. If I tell him what happened, I wonder if he'll take notice.""You're sneaky!" Randy couldn't contain his frustration.Debra looked at Marion seriously. "Lend me eight billion, and I'll pay you back with interest in three years."Randy's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much interest that'll be? If you can't pay it back, we'll lose eight billion dollars. You're Juan's wife. Who can hold you accountable?""I know the interest. I'll sign a contract with you. If I can't repay, I'll give you my family's properties and stocks, and I'll work for you for the rest of my life." Randy paused and continued, "And besides, my marriage
Chapter 5Shelia's smile froze. "Why?""Mr. Nichols is taking his wife tonight, so it wouldn't be convenient for you to attend."Shelia forced a smile. "Oh, so he's taking his wife. That's great. I didn't want to go anyway.""That's good."Shelia held her phone and bit her lip.Her roommates exchanged glances."Shelia, did your boyfriend stand you up?""I heard this event is international. Didn't your boyfriend organize it to introduce you to some foreign entrepreneurs?"Facing their skeptical looks, Shelia managed a weak smile. "He has an important client to accompany. I shouldn't disturb him."Shelia glanced at the dress in her hands, her expression dimming.'Juan never likes Debra. Why did he suddenly...'She tightened her grip on the dress.She had looked forward to tonight's event for so long. She couldn't just give up.As the night fell, Juan had a splendid black dress sent to Debra.He had been waiting downstairs for a while when he saw Debra descending the stairs
Chapter 6Her cry pierced through the room.All eyes, including Juan's and Debra's, turned to her.In their eyes, Shelia was a rude and uncultured woman.The old gardener bent down to pick up the scattered roses and apologized profusely.Feeling the stares around her, Shelia quickly changed her attitude. "I'm sorry. I was in haste. Are you okay, sir?"Debra watched from nearby.Even though Shelia tried to fix it, it only came off as insincere.Shelia also noticed Debra beside Juan."How did she get here?" Juan frowned.Given his expression, he seemed clueless about Shelia's arrival.Debra wondered if Shelia came on her own.Debra stayed silent.This plot was different from that of her last life. Juan brought Shelia to the party, where Shelia impressed Caleb Houston. It led to a smooth path overseas and success after graduation with support from Juan and Caleb.Debra thought that Shelia would not show up this time.Yet here she was."Mr. Nichols!" Hearing the commotion,
Chapter 7Given his expression, Juan knew that this plot of land would fetch a hefty sum.Yet he chose to let Stephen have it as a favor.That was just Juan's style."I was just paying a compliment. You're reading too much into it," Debra replied.Juan furrowed his brow, assessing the sincerity of Debra's words.It made sense. Given Debra's intelligence, how could she see the future value of that land?Juan realized he was overthinking it."Hope so."Juan turned away, leading Shelia to meet other people.Shelia glanced at Debra.Debra managed to capture the hint of triumph in Shelia's eyes.She downed a glass of champagne.In the eyes of others, she was just a failed woman abandoned by her husband.Her husband left her and took another woman to meet business partners. Could anything be more of a joke than this?Debra felt disheartened. She had planned to mingle with the business elites, but with Juan gone, it became difficult.How could she approach those entrepreneurs
Erica chimed in, "Right now, with half the entertainment industry's resources in their hands, their artists are already strained. If they take our deals too, those artists will be run into the ground. Even if they worked 24/7, they wouldn't be able to handle that kind of workload.""To capitalists, artists are just tools to make money. They couldn't care less about how the tools feel. And since those artists are mostly rookies, their rates are relatively low. After layers of exploitation, the pay they take home won't match the work they're doing," Debra replied. "Meanwhile, our artists are enjoying paid vacations for two months, traveling and relaxing. Do you think the Buchan Group's artists will feel okay with that? These are skilled professionals, but they're stuck doing assembly-line work. With such intense workloads, their performance will inevitably suffer, and the quality of their work will drop. For artists, no good work means no staying power. Their popularity will fade, and a
"She's probably trying to catch us off guard with this move," Debra said, calming down. "She's pushing her artists to work nonstop, taking on every gig they can get. By marketing them so aggressively, she's maintaining a temporary buzz. Advertisers will shift their partnerships from our artists to hers. If we lose most of our clients all at once, it'll throw our company into chaos. That's when she will swoop in."Andrew muttered, "So, it's a mind game? Theda knows how to play dirty."But Erica still looked troubled. "Now we know what she's doing. What can we do? Just sit by when she steals our clients?"If they lost their clients, their artists' commercial value would plummet. That would be a heavy blow to their business. Their revenue would dive, and they would lose their standing in Seamar City.Debra smiled mysteriously, "If Theda wants to disrupt us, we'll meet changes with constancy.""What do you mean?" Erica was puzzled."Didn't Michael just say that artists aren't machine
Compared to those mass-produced artists, these people under Theda's management had been trained for years.They were different from those who debuted just because of their looks. These people were versatile and unique in their own ways.Randy mumbled, "I've tried my best, but every time we fight back, they come up with something new. The advertisers we worked with before saw the momentum behind their publicity. Plus, their new talents were cheaper, so they all switched sides. Our ad revenue has dropped significantly. Even our commercial street has to feature ads for those Buchan artists. It's like quenching a thirst with poison."Erica chimed in, "This is the least we can do. Their artists are riding the tide. It makes sense that advertisers would go for them. We can't just tell people not to run ads for them."Debra nodded. "Advertisers choose who's trending. And those newcomers are popular and affordable. Michael is better but beyond the average advertisers' reach."Erica got an
Soon, the interrogators came out of the room. It seemed they wouldn't get any answers today.Kale had been waiting outside the station.When Drake and Debra walked out, he quickly went up."Boss, the plane tickets are ready.""Good."Before getting into the car, Drake said, "I'll give you an answer within three days. Don't forget our bet."Debra shook her head, surprised that he took that lopsided deal so seriously.Her phone rang with a call from Erica. "Check the news!"Debra, sensing her urgency, opened the news app.The top headline was about Buchan Entertainment. The article showcased a lineup of attractive artists and members of popular bands.Randy's words resurfaced in her mind. When she had just returned to Seamar City, he mentioned that a surge of artists had become wildly popular, rivaling the fame of Michael back in the day.Since Oscar left the entertainment industry to take over the Odom Group, these artists had been gaining even more momentum, almost as if the
"You think I'm scared of being caught?" Drake tried to pull his arm away, but Debra held on tightly.In the end, Drake snapped, "Fine! I won't go."The police were already closing in. Running now would only make things worse. Being dragged back in cuffs wasn't exactly appealing.Debra let go of him and smiled cheerfully, "Thank you for your cooperation."Pedro personally led the operation. Within minutes, the officers subdued the six thugs and loaded them into the vans.Pedro glanced at Debra and pointed at Drake. "About Mr. Lowe..."Debra explained, "Mr. Lowe is a witness. He's cooperating with us to clear his name and assist in solving this case. Isn't that touching, Mr. Hardy?""Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Much appreciated," Pedro said gratefully.But then he scratched his head and added, "Well, since Mr. Lowe is a witness, he'll need to come to the station for a statement. I know it's inconvenient, but I'm sure a generous and upright person like Mr. Lowe won't mind, right?"Befor
"I'll talk. It was Matthew Ledger. Please, spare me, Mr. Lowe," Silas said, terrified.He was just a small-time worker running errands for the bigshots.Drake narrowed his eyes, not expecting Matthew to be so bold."Boss, what should we do with these people?" Kale asked."Bind them all up." Drake glanced at the boat. "Stuff them in there, along with the machines, and send them to the West Factory. We'll go meet Matthew.""Yes, boss." Kale gave orders to cram those men into boxes.Among the group, six men suddenly pulled out their guns. "Don't move!"Debra saw it and opened the car door.Looking nothing special, these people had blended into the crowd and acted only at the critical moment.Debra knew that the shipment of so many machines couldn't go unsupervised. She hadn't noticed anyone hidden earlier, but it turned out they'd been embedded within the group.Clearly, whoever was behind this had infiltrated Drake's company."Stand back!" The six men grouped, scanning their s
Presumably, Silas had smuggled out countless machines and made a fortune over the years.Drake pulled out a bank card and said, "There's not much in here, but it's got 300-500 thousand dollars. I'd appreciate it if you guys could help carry all the machines down. Consider this a tip."Everyone was excited to hear that. It was easy money to make.The leader quickly ordered his men to unload the cargo. Drake handed the card over and glanced at his watch.Then he looked over at the car parked 100 meters away from the dock.Inside, Debra rolled down the window but had no intention of stepping in. She was simply enjoying the show.The men brought down the boxes, emptying the cargo ship.Drake nodded and said, "Thanks, everyone."The leader laughed, "No worries. You've already paid us."Drake smirked, "It's for carrying the evidence down."Before those men could react, Kale and his team sprang from their hiding spots.Realizing it was a trap, the men tried to flee, but Kale's peop
Debra pulled up to the East Dock.To avoid being recognized, she stayed in the car and motioned for Drake to go ahead.Drake glanced at the row of thugs standing on the dock. His expression darkened. "Why didn't you tell me there'd be so many people?"Debra shrugged. "Relax. Most of them are your people. You show up, and they'll fall in line."Drake was speechless but got a picture of the situation. Many of the thugs bore distinctive tattoos of the Lowe Group. They were undoubtedly traitors who had infiltrated his ranks.Selling his machines without his permission was a serious offense.He got out of the car and made a quick call before heading toward the group.The leader of the thugs was a burly man in his forties. Both of his arms were tattooed. He frowned at the sight of Drake. "What is your boss thinking? Sending one guy to pick up the goods?"The shipment was an entire boatload of machines. The unloading work alone would need at least 20 workers.Drake had pulled a cap
"Yeah." Debra nodded."Huh? Aren't you a spoiled rich lady? I thought you were like my sister, never lifting a finger for anything," said Garland.Liza grumbled, "Says who? I can make chocolate.""Right, if melting chocolate and putting it into a mold counts," Garland scoffed.Andrew suddenly lost his appetite. He put down his fork and knife. "Barton, pack the food and send it upstairs. It's too crowded down here. I can't eat like this."Randy protested, "Wait. If you take the food away, what are we going to eat?""Didn't you and Erica already eat at the hotel? You probably don't have room for a second dinner," Andrew replied blandly.Randy blushed when their date was exposed. He jumped up and rushed up the stairs.Erica casually whistled as she strolled upstairs.Liza and Garland were puzzled.Debra watched Andrew leave and sighed. 'Sure enough, it's not easy to pacify him.'Marion saw her frustrated expression. "Did you upset him?"Debra explained what had happened during