Forbidden Passion
Chapter 469 Madison Smashed Grace's Store

In less than half an hour, Ulysses came back with Grace, looking all pumped up. "Ms. Ziegler, Grace did so awesome that Vincent decided to keep her."

"For real?" Phoebe's eyes lit up, and she quickly glanced at Grace, who shyly nodded. Phoebe was stoked. "That's awesome, glad you can stay."

Grace clasped her hands, clearly excited too. "Vincent had me spar with the killer. I got a bit flustered and tripped over myself. Vincent then said it was good and decided to keep me." Phoebe and Evan exchanged looks, and Phoebe couldn't help but laugh. "Vincent is such a character."

Evan rubbed his high, straight nose and grinned. "He sure is something."

Ulysses quickly chimed in, "Grace is being too modest. Vincent said her acting was so natural, no one could tell she was acting. Everyone watching was blown away. She really nailed it." "Ulysses, it's not that big of a deal. I really did trip over myself," Grace quickly explained.

Seeing this, Phoebe finally felt relieved. "It's great you can stay. Grace, you should learn from Evan and the others. They're all pros and can teach you a lot."

"I get it, Phoebe. I'll work hard." Grace responded, a hint of determination in her voice as she unconsciously switched to calling Phoebe by her first name. Phoebe smiled and turned to Evan. "Then I'll leave Grace in your hands. Take good care of her for me."

Evan replied, "Sure, but you owe me a meal."

"I'll definitely treat you," Phoebe agreed, then turned to Grace. "When does Vincent want you to join the crew? Do you need to go back and pack your stuff?" "Vincent wants me to come to the crew tomorrow afternoon. I still need to go back to the company and report the upcoming schedule to my agent," Grace said. Phoebe nodded. "Alright, then we'll head out now."

"I'll see you out," Evan said, grabbing his military coat and following Phoebe and Grace out of the dressing room before Ulysses could say anything. Ulysses scratched his head, puzzled by Evan's keenness towards Phoebe.

Grace walked beside Phoebe, listening to her chat with Evan and realizing that their conversation was more casual than serious.

The dressing room wasn't far from the crew's entrance, and they got there in no time. Evan stopped and looked down at Phoebe. The cold moonlight reflected in Phoebe's eyes, making them clear, bright, and lively.

Phoebe handed him a hot water bottle. "It's freezing out here. You should head back. When you have time, I'll treat you to a meal."

Evan kept his hands in his coat pockets and didn't take the bottle. "I have plenty of these. Just keep it. It's not worth much."

Phoebe still pushed the hot water bottle back into his hands. "Your fans gifted it to you. It may not be worth much, but it's a sweet gesture. We're heading out now. See you later."

Evan's lips moved slightly, but he saw Phoebe and Grace leaving the crew. Phoebe walked away gracefully, waving at him with her back turned.

Evan's lips curled into a slight smile and thought, 'Phoebe is indeed cool!'

As the car drove towards the city, Grace sat in the passenger seat, occasionally glancing at Phoebe. Over the past few days, she had heard many rumors about Phoebe at Queen Entertainment. Word was that Phoebe was Theodore's lover. For some unknown reason, she had ticked off Theodore and was sent to Queen Entertainment to help his first love, Vanessa, manage the company. At first, everyone doubted Phoebe's skills, but in just six months, she made two artists blow up, putting Queen Entertainment on the map.

However, the good times didn't last. Out of nowhere, Theodore lost it and yanked Phoebe back to the Reynolds Group, handing Queen Entertainment over to Vanessa.

No one could wrap their heads around why Theodore would let Vanessa run the show. She clearly had no clue and was bound to mess things up.

The company was in chaos, and everyone was on edge, thinking they might get canned any day.

Today was the longest Grace had hung out with Phoebe. From her words to her actions, Phoebe made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "What's up?" Phoebe noticed her staring and asked.

Grace bit her lip and cautiously asked, "Phoebe, how did you and Evan meet? You guys seem super tight."

Phoebe replied, "We live in the same neighborhood and got to know each other after grabbing a meal together."

Grace was surprised. "That simple?"

"Relationships between people aren't complicated. Look, I had a meal at your place, and now I know you, too," Phoebe said with a smile.

Grace thought about it and realized she was overthinking it. "When I saw the news that Evan signed his business and promo contracts with Queen Entertainment, I was shocked." Back then, no one had heard of Queen Entertainment. Evan's fans were losing it on social media, but now Grace kinda got why Evan signed those contracts under Phoebe. Seeing Grace stay quiet, Phoebe said, "It is kinda unbelievable, but it's just destiny."

Grace couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, it's all fate."

An hour later, the car stopped outside Grace's house. Phoebe looked through the windshield and saw tables and chairs outside the restaurant all messed up. Phoebe quickly parked the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out with Grace.

People were gathered around, and when they saw Grace return, the neighbors made way. "Grace, go check. Your father got beat up by some thugs."

Grace's heart skipped a beat. She didn't have time to think about Phoebe and rushed into the restaurant.

Inside, there were a dozen thugs, each holding a stick. Among them was a particularly familiar face.

"It's you!" Grace's eyes widened in anger as she glared at Madison, who was sitting on a table. "It's bad enough you bullied me at the company. Why did you come to trash my family's restaurant? Where's my dad?" Grace frantically searched for Mason and finally found him in a corner. His head was covered in blood, which was gushing out, looking horrifying.

She ran over and knelt in front of Mason, too scared to touch him. "Dad, how are you? I'll call the cops right now."

As she took out her phone, Mason grabbed her hand. "Grace, don't call the cops. I'm fine. Help me up first."

"They hurt you so bad, why not call the cops?" Grace cried out.

This wasn't the first time Madison had brought people to trash the restaurant. Last time, they claimed there were cockroaches in the fish and demanded compensation for emotional distress. Grace had witnessed them throw live cockroaches into the dish. When she wanted to call the cops, Mason stopped her and paid them off.

It was then that Alva was pushed by a thug, resulting in hospitalization and diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer.

These thugs came to the restaurant to cause trouble every now and then. Grace couldn't understand why Mason was so scared and wouldn't let her call the cops.