Master of his heart (Max and Brielle)
Chapter 1282

When Brielle walked into the swanky office of Stellar Stage Entertainment's CEO, she was hit with a strange sense of déjà vu. It was only her second day on the job, but something about the place felt oddly familiar.

She organized her desk, glancing over at King, who was sprawled on a nearby sofa, fingers grazing the edge of a book, completely engrossed. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the room in a warm, cozy glow. Donny popped in, ready to brief her on the female streamers' current standings. He handed her a stack of documents, complete with all the rankings.

"Mr. Haywood, take a look. We're about halfway through the selection process, and Leona's way out in front. Her stats are off the charts, and she's got the most followers by far. Her win seems pretty much guaranteed." Brielle suddenly remembered the woman she'd seen buying makeup for her daughter. Wasn't her daughter one of the contestants?

She scrolled down the list until she found Emma's face at the very bottom.

"Why aren't her numbers better? She's gorgeous," Brielle thought, puzzled.

Determined not to miss anything, especially with Stellar Stage Entertainment making a big push into the streaming world, Brielle fired up her computer and began checking out the female broadcasters' streams. Everyone was streaming like their lives depended on it, eager to grab every follower they could. Most didn't have the financial backing that Leona had, making this their one shot at changing their fortunes. But when she clicked on Emma's stream, she was met with a black screen and a "Streamer is offline" message.

"What's she doing that's more important than streaming?" Brielle wondered aloud.

"Mr. Haywood, Emma's family had an emergency. She's at the hospital with them and probably won't be back for a week," Donny explained.

Given Emma's position at the bottom of the leaderboard and the widening gap between her and the other contestants, a week's absence would likely mean elimination. Such a waste, given how stunning she was. Brielle nodded, shifting her attention to Leona's stream. As the current fan favorite, it was crucial to assess her commercial appeal.

Yet, Leona's chat was buzzing with comments about Emma.

"Emma's not streaming again today. Must be too embarrassed after getting called out."

"Embarrassed? The girl who spends her mom's money on luxury makeup? She's got no shame."

"Both of them are thieves. Good riddance."

Brielle's brows furrowed as she turned to Donny. "What's going on here? Is there beef between them?"

Donny quickly explained, "Apparently, Leona lost a gold necklace weighing about fifty grams, and Emma's mom was seen pawning some gold around the same time. Everyone's convinced she stole it."

But Brielle remembered the item Peyton pawned - it was an old bracelet, not a necklace, and definitely not Leona's.

It seemed Leona was using her fan base to cyberbully Emma. Such behavior was unacceptable at Stellar Stage Entertainment.

And yet, the comments continued to

vilify Emma for supposedly living lavishly while her mother appeared modestly dressed. Brielle had her doubts too, given Peyton's humble appearance despite splurging on an expensive foundation for her

daughter.

But Emma's choice to stay with her mother in the hospital instead of streaming showed genuine care. This merited a closer look.

"No foul play will be tolerated here," Brielle decided. "Get in touch with Emma. Once her mother is well, we'll need her to come in and explain." Donny nodded and went to handle it.

Meanwhile, Emma sat by Peyton's

bedside, guilt etched all over her face. Her mother's accident had happened while out buying makeup - the foundation bottle shattered, and so did Peyton's head, leaving a gash.

wn

Holding her mother's hand, Emma's eyes welled up with tears. Once Peyton woke up, Emma planned to check if the donations from her stream could be withdrawn. Even if they had to split the money with the platform, the couple of thousand dollars should cover their trip back

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