Chapter 79

Brenda had always enjoyed the thrill of taking risks. She nodded in agreement. “This idea is fantastic. For our head-to-head with other entertainment companies right off the bat, poaching their people isn’t ideal.”

She continued, “Otherwise, we’ll be in for a rough time if they decide to gang up on us. But if we go after the talent Jenkins Entertainment has abandoned, shelved, or deliberately suppressed…”

“People might think you’re acting out of spite just to go against your two brothers. And they’d hardly take us seriously; Ollie and Leon might even find the whole thing amusing. They wouldn’t feel much need to be wary.”

Brenda added, “With their arrogant personalities, they wouldn’t start pulling strings to sabotage any talent we bring on at first. Because they’re just waiting for you to fall flat so they can mock you.”

“Or maybe pretend to offer you a contract to lure you back to Jenkins Entertainment. By the time we’ve built them up, they’ll regret it, but it’ll be too late to suppress them.”

Phoebe’s smile grew more pronounced. “You do know me well.” Her thinking aligned exactly with what Brenda had just outlined.

Phoebe said, “Once we pull in Jenkins Entertainment’s seasoned operations team, we can start recruiting their stars. As for abandoned, shelved, or suppressed stars, we’ll consider those with potential and decent character.”

“In the beginning, we won’t bring too many, just two to four to start with. We’ll recruit them quietly, and when they switch over, they shouldn’t mention they’re joining our studio.”

“Even if Ollie and Leon are waiting to watch me fail, that doesn’t mean they won’t make things difficult when we start poaching.”

Especially after the ruckus she’d just raised with Leon, he was still holding a grudge. Waiting until they successfully acquired the talent before going public was the best approach.

Brenda nodded. “We really are on the same wavelength. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

In life, in thoughts, and at work, she and Pheels were always so in sync. That was why they’d vowed to be lifelong friends, people they could each trust completely.

Brenda said, “When you’re filming the next live show episode, I’ll visit the film academy and see—even invest in—our own productions.”

There are any promising newcomers. We could…

Brenda added boldly, “I’ve still got quite a bit of money that I can put into the studio.”

Ophelia was partial and didn’t favor them. Brenda and Reece had grown up with their grandfather. Before he passed, he had intentionally skewed his shares by leaving six percent, split only between Brenda and Reece, after he gave up his authority.

When Reece returned to Solara City for school, he’d been won over by Ophelia. Even more absurdly, he’d gotten it into his head that he wanted the family united, so he tried to persuade Grandpa to return to Solara City.

Their grandpa had been so angered by this that he only left Reece shares. As a result, all of his collectibles and the assets he held that weren’t tied to the Hill Group were left to Brenda.

The grandpa had told Brenda that if she ever wanted to break away from the Hill family, she’d have something to rely on. Soren and their other cousins and friends, however, received nothing.

It served them right. Over the years, they distanced themselves from their grandpa because of their parents. Only Brenda and Reece had stayed by his side through the years. After their grandpa passed, Brenda returned to the Hill family.

With the assets he’d left her, Brenda finally had the leverage to stand up to Ophelia and the others. Other members of the Hill family were insanely jealous, constantly eyeing her shares.

Even Ophelia had repeatedly hinted that Brenda should hand over the shares to Soren and her grandfather’s collectibles.

Pretending not to understand, Brenda ignored their words, occasionally snapping back when she’d had enough. She would never be like her foolish brother, drawn in by Ophelia’s token displays of motherly affection, only to be used by her.

Because of this, Ophelia disliked Brenda even more. Yet, unable to part with the valuable items in Brenda’s possession, Ophelia would scold her while also urging Brenda to return home.

Every year, Brenda earned millions of dollars from her shares in the Hill Group. After moving abroad, she worked at Frank’s company, where her busy schedule left her little time or energy for shopping.

Consequently, Brenda had amassed several dozen million dollars. Phoebe, aware that Brenda was quite wealthy, joked, “Alright, we’ll just wait for…”

Phoebe, too, would work hard to earn money for the studio. Previously, she had invested some of her funds in the stock market.

She planned to take on some horoscope projects next, and in her spare time, she aimed to visit the public auction at the border to acquire gemstones and lucky items to sell, while also networking and earning money.

Remembering this, Phoebe advised Brenda, “Several antiques your grandfather left behind carry positive energy and can serve as excellent lucky items or horoscope instruments. Make sure you don’t sell them.”

Brenda nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ve stored everything in a bank vault specifically for those items. I’ve got plenty of money, so I won’t sell them. If I kept them at home, they’d probably be gone by now. Ophelia and the others are eyeing them.”

Brenda added, “Especially Ophelia, who wants the antiques my grandfather left me even more than my shares. I wonder what she plans to do with them.”

Brenda waved her hand dismissively. “Look. She even has her sights set on the beads. She hinted several times that she really liked them and wanted me to give them to her. I acted like I didn’t hear her, and then she went to Reece to hint at her desire…”

“Reece, that silly guy, came to me and said it was just a string of beads, so why not give it to Mom since she wanted it? That infuriated me. I wanted to slap him.”

“Grandpa specifically bought it for me and told me to wear them always before he passed. How could I ever give them to that woman?” Brenda scoffed.

Phoebe’s gaze fell on the beads around Brenda’s wrist. Before the time travel, she wouldn’t have recognized their true value. But having visited a small world focused on metaphysics, her understanding had greatly improved.

Now, Phoebe could see their worth at a glance. She warned, “That’s a powerful horoscope instrument. It can protect you from disasters when it matters. No wonder she’s so fixated on it.”

Phoebe wore a pendant around her neck, given by her mentor, Percival, which had a similar essence to the beads.

Brenda chuckled at Phoebe’s comment. “I knew it wasn’t simple. Ophelia typically wears only high-end jade jewelry and limited-edition luxury bracelets. It’s hard to believe she’d like a string of beads,”

Phoebe studied the beads, then paused to ask, “Does Ophelia understand horoscope instruments?”

Brenda shook her head. “She probably doesn’t. She does love collecting antiques, though. She had Dad bid on many for her at auctions. But after bringing them home, she didn’t seem to cherish them.”

“If she lost interest, they just piled up in a room. I overheard her assistants mentioning that she gifted quite a few away. I have no idea who she gave them to.”

Phoebe cautioned, “If you go back, be mindful of this. Many antiques can be used as horoscope instruments, and her gifting them away feels off.”

Brenda hadn’t considered these matters before, but now that Phoebe mentioned it, it seemed rather strange.

“Alright, I’ll pay more attention next time and discreetly have the butler keep an eye on her,” Brenda said.

The butler was her grandfather’s man, who had protected and helped her in secret.

Phoebe nodded. “Yes, but be careful.”