Betrayed Spotlight
Chapter 55: Live stream

Chapter 55: Live stream

Sarah woke up early the next morning, excited about her live stream scheduled for later that day.

She got dressed quietly and headed downstairs, trying not to wake anyone. But as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard voices coming from the dinning.

"Mason, you work too hard," came Jayla’s sweet voice. "You should take better care of yourself."

Sarah walked into the dinning to find Jayla standing very close to Mason, who was pouring coffee into his travel mug. Jayla was wearing a silk robe that was shorter than it should be, and her hair was perfectly styled even though it was only seven in the morning.

"Good morning," Sarah said, trying to keep her voice cheerful.

Mason looked up and nodded at her. "Good morning. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I’m excited," Sarah replied, understanding what she meant, but she noticed that Jayla had moved even closer to Mason when she walked in.

"Oh, Sarah has something special happening today?" Jayla asked, touching Mason’s arm as she spoke.

Mason jerked away from Jayla’s touch, creating distance between them. "Sarah is doing a live stream performance today. It’s a big deal for her career."

"That’s wonderful!" Jayla said, clapping her hands together, pretending not to be hurt. "I’m sure you’ll do great."

But Sarah noticed that Jayla’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, and she seemed annoyed.

"I need to get to the studio early to prepare," Sarah said, grabbing a piece of toast.

"I’ll see you tonight," Mason said, picking up his briefcase. "Good luck today."

As Mason headed toward the door, Jayla followed him. "Mason, wait! Can I get a ride with you? I need to go shopping for some things."

"I’m going straight to the office," Mason said politely but firmly. "James can drive you wherever you need to go."

Sarah watched as Jayla’s face showed a flash of disappointment before she recovered her sweet smile.

"Of course," Jayla said. "I don’t want to bother you."

After Mason left, Sarah finished her breakfast quickly, eager to get away from Jayla’s fake sweetness.

"Break a leg today," Jayla said as Sarah headed for the door.

"Thank you," Sarah replied, though something about Jayla’s tone made her feel uneasy.

An hour later, Sarah arrived at Zachary’s office, feeling much better. The familiar environment of the music studio always made her feel more confident and in control.

"Sarah!" Zachary called out when he saw her. "Are you ready for today? This is going to be huge."

"I’m ready," Sarah said, smiling genuinely for the first time that morning.

"Perfect. Silas is already here helping in setting up the equipment. We’ve got everything prepared for you."

Sarah found Silas in the main studio room, adjusting cameras and testing sound levels. When he saw her, his face lit up with excitement.

"Sarah! This is it - your moment to shine," He said, walking over to greet her. "The response online has been incredible. People are so excited to see you live."

"Really?" Sarah asked, feeling butterflies in her stomach.

"Really," Silas confirmed. "Your fan club has grown by thousands just in the past few days. And wait until you see the gifts that have been arriving."

Silas led her to a table covered with beautiful flower arrangements, gift baskets, and cards from fans all over the world.

"This is amazing," Sarah said, reading some of the cards. "I can’t believe people care this much."

"Believe it," Zachary said, joining them. "And speaking of caring, check your bank account."

Sarah looked at him curiously and pulled out her phone to check her banking app. When she saw the balance, her eyes widened in shock.

"Zachary, this can’t be right," she said, staring at the numbers on her screen.

"It’s right," Zachary said with a big grin. "That’s your advance payment for today’s performance and the upcoming contract deals. And it’s in US dollars."

Sarah felt tears of happiness forming in her eyes. She couldn’t remember that last time she had this much In her bank account.

"I don’t know what to say," Sarah whispered.

"Say you’re ready to give the performance of your life," Silas said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Just then, Sarah’s phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID and saw her father’s name. Her happy mood immediately disappeared.

"I need to take this," she said, walking away from Zachary and Silas.

But instead of answering, Sarah declined the call.

Her phone immediately started ringing again. Again, she declined the call.

The third time her father called, Sarah turned her phone to silent mode and put it in her purse.

"Everything okay?" Silas asked, noticing her change in mood.

"Everything’s fine," Sarah said, forcing a smile. "Let’s focus on getting ready for the stream."

For the next thirty minutes, Sarah worked with the makeup artist who had been brought in specially for the occasion. As the artist applied Sarah’s makeup, she chatted about how excited she was to be working with such a talented singer.

"Your skin is perfect," the makeup artist said. "This is going to look beautiful on camera."

Sarah was starting to feel excited again when her phone buzzed with a text message. She picked it up casually, expecting it to be a good luck message from a friend.

But when she read the message, her face went completely pale.

The text was from Elliot: "If you don’t come to the main mansion right now, I will make sure your music career is destroyed forever. Trust me when I say i’d do it. Don’t test me."

Sarah’s hands started shaking as she read the message.

"Miss, what’s wrong?" the makeup artist asked, noticing that Sarah had gone pale.

"Nothing," Sarah said quickly, putting her phone face down on the table. "Just some spam."

But Silas had been watching her from across the room, and he could tell something was seriously wrong. He walked over and accidentally glanced at her phone, which was still showing the threatening text message.

"Sarah," Silas said quietly, "who sent you that message?"

"It’s nothing," Sarah said, quickly flipping her phone over. "Just someone trying to cause trouble."

"That didn’t look like nothing," Silas said, his voice full of concern. "That looked like a threat."

Sarah stood up abruptly, causing the makeup artist to step back in surprise.

"I said it’s nothing," Sarah said, her voice sharper than she intended. "Can we please just focus on getting ready for the stream?"

But Silas wasn’t going to let it go. "Sarah, if someone is threatening you, you need to tell someone. You can’t handle this alone."

"I can handle my own problems," Sarah said, walking away from him.

Silas followed her. "No, you can’t. Not if someone is trying to sabotage your career. Who was that message from?"

"It doesn’t matter," Sarah said, but her voice was shaking now.

"It does matter," Silas said firmly. "Sarah, I care about you. If someone is trying to hurt you, I want to help." Silas didn’t see her father’s name because he had looked too fast.

Sarah stopped walking and turned to face him. She could see the genuine concern in his eyes, and for a moment she considered telling him everything about her father.

But then she remembered that she just got back together with Silas, she went against the idea.

"I appreciate your concern," Sarah said carefully, "but this is something I have to deal with myself."

"Are you planning to go meet whoever sent you that message?" Silas asked.

Sarah hesitated. She knew she probably would have to go to the Chen family mansion eventually. Her father wouldn’t give up, and the longer she waited, the angrier he would become.

"Maybe," she said quietly.

"Then I’m coming with you," Silas said immediately.

"No," Sarah said firmly. "Absolutely not."

"Sarah, I’m not letting you go meet someone who just threatened you. Not alone."

Sarah felt touched by his words, but she also felt scared about involving him in her family drama.

"It’s too complicated," she said. "You wouldn’t understand."

"Try me," Silas said.

Sarah looked at his earnest face and felt her resolve weakening.

"If I tell you," she said slowly, "and if I decide I have to go deal with this, you have to promise me that you’ll just drive me there and wait in the car. You can’t get involved in the actual confrontation."

"Deal," Silas said immediately.

Sarah took a deep breath. "The message was from my father. He wants me to come to our family mansion right now, or he’s going to use his methods to destroy my music career."

Silas’s eyes widened in shock. "Elliot? Your father sent you that threat?"

"It’s complicated," Sarah said. "My family... you know they don’t approve of the choices I’ve made. They think I should be doing different things with my life."

"That’s still no excuse for threatening you," Silas said angrily.

"I know," Sarah said quietly. "But I also know that he has the power to follow through on his threats. He knows a lot of important people in the entertainment industry too."

Silas was quiet for a moment, processing this information.

"How long do we have before the live stream starts?" Sarah asked.

Zachary, who had been listening from across the room, looked at his watch. "One hour exactly. Everything is set up and ready to go."

Sarah looked at her phone again, knowing that her father was probably getting angrier with each minute that passed.

"I have to go deal with this," she said finally. "I can’t do the live stream knowing that he might sabotage it somehow."

"Then I’m definitely coming with you," Silas said.

"Silas, I already told you—"

"And I already told you that I’m not letting you go alone," Silas interrupted. "Sarah, this is not negotiable."

Sarah could see that he wasn’t going to change his mind. And if she was being honest with herself, she felt relieved to know that she wouldn’t have to face her father completely alone this time. She probably should tell Mason, but he might be busy.

"Fine," she said finally. "But you stay in the car no matter what happens."

"Agreed," Silas said.

Zachary looked concerned about the whole situation. "Are you sure you want to do this right before your live stream? Maybe you could just ignore the message and deal with your father after the performance."

"Please, let me do this first."

"Okay," Zachary said. "But hurry back. Your fans are already gathering online, and we don’t want to keep them waiting too long."

Sarah nodded and grabbed her bag.