Revenge Begins: Reincarnated as a Hated Idol!-Chapter 76: The Inescapable Trap

Around 6:30 pm, Aren’s post had begun to trend on PulseX, attracting the attention of Shirley Fens, the secretary to Iris Valcourt.

Since she needed to stay updated herself to let Iris know of every piece of news that could affect her or Titan Crest Entertainment, Shirley had a habit of checking the internet every half an hour.

As soon as she noticed the trending hashtag and Aren’s post in the trending feed, she immediately checked it out.

After suspecting some hidden motives in that video, Shirley decided to notify Iris about it.

However, Iris was currently in a meeting with Ethan Starfall, one of the top movie stars and the highest-earning celebrity of Titan Crest Entertainment.

At the age of 38 years old, his stardom matched veteran stars who had already established a legacy. His last five movies had been massive hits, grossing over a billion in box office collections. His highest grosser, Blunder of the Past, had crossed 5 billion Siera, marking it as a legendary hit.

However, his contract with Titan Crest Entertainment was expiring, and Iris was currently under negotiations with him.

Generally, he would renew his contract without any questions or demands because he had been signed with Titan Crest Entertainment from the time when he had been an unknown rookie.

However, this time, he didn’t wish to renew his contract with Titan Crest Entertainment, leading to the ongoing negotiation meeting with Iris.

The reason?

It was common knowledge that Ethan had been the former CEO’s find, and Aren Frost had been like a mentor to him.

Most believed that he stayed with the agency solely because of him, despite the generous offers he received from other prominent agencies in the past.

Now that the former CEO died abruptly, Ethan didn’t feel the need to stay with Titan Crest Entertainment anymore.

He called it: "It doesn’t feel like home anymore."

While he wanted to leave, Iris and Titan Crest Entertainment couldn’t afford to lose him. He was one of the major sources of their influence, revenue, and power in the entertainment industry.

With his name associated with the company, Titan Crest Entertainment seemed even more reputable and influential, attracting rising talents to the agency just because they admired Ethan Starfall.

If he left, Titan Crest Entertainment would lose big time.

Iris was thus fully focused on this negotiation meeting, determined to convince Ethan to stay. She had instructed Shirley to not interrupt the meeting no matter what.

Due to this reason, she couldn’t report to Iris, leaving her no choice but to inform Neil instead.

She had his personal number, given to her for reporting anything urgent to him, and thus, she called him and reported everything.

"Alright," Neil said to her on the phone, "you did good."

He ended the call and called his personal secretary, a man in his forties with brown hair and a mustache.

After his secretary entered his study and gave him a respectful bow, Neil spoke in a commanding voice:

"Find out about this Aren Frost interview."

He paused, his eyes shining with a cold light as he continued:

"Order them to cancel it."

"Yes, sir."

Neil didn’t want to leave any chances for error. He knew that after getting blacklisted by everyone in the entertainment industry, Aren would try to play some tricks to survive.

Maybe this interview was just his attempt to increase his popularity, urging his fans to support him. Maybe he hoped to get a role offer after this.

After all, he was just a 22-year-old kid, nothing more.

Could he really convince Sun Films to oppose Titan Crest Entertainment?

No chance.

He was confident that either this was Aren’s pathetic attempt to get some role or endorsement or he planned to try and expose Lucian’s crime in the live interview, trying to show the evidence on live TV.

The latter could be a problem, and thus, Neil wanted to stop the interview from happening. He couldn’t leave things to chance.

While he waited in his study, his secretary returned after around twenty minutes with a long face.

After noticing him return, Neil asked inquisitively, "Is it done?"

Neil’s voice was calm, measured, but the weight behind it pressed heavily against the room.

His secretary hesitated.

A flicker of unease crossed his face before he lowered his head, shame evident in the rigid line of his shoulders.

"No, sir."

He lifted his gaze, forcing himself to continue.

"Miss Ember didn’t answer her phone. I called her secretary, but she was the same. I tried multiple times, but even after waiting for a few minutes between the calls, the result was the same."

"Hmm." Neil hummed softly.

His fingers were interlocked, chin resting against them as his thoughts moved swiftly behind still eyes.

"Did you try Birak?" he asked. "The news director of Sun News."

The question hit like a spark.

The secretary’s eyes widened.

Then—he shook his head.

"No, sir."

"I’ll call him immediately."

He turned to leave, urgency replacing hesitation—

"Wait."

The single word stopped him cold.

He turned back at once.

Neil’s gaze was fixed, unwavering.

"Call him here," he said. "Put it on speaker."

"...Yes, sir."

The secretary nodded, pulling out his phone. His fingers moved quickly, scrolling through contacts until he found the name.

Birak.

He tapped it.

Then enabled speaker.

The ringing tone echoed through the silent room—each pulse stretching the tension tighter.

Neil didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

Just watched.

The secretary swallowed, a quiet prayer forming in his chest—

Pick up...

Unlike the others.

Please pick up...

Click.

The line connected.

"Hello, Mr. Seth."

Relief flashed across the secretary’s face for a fraction of a second.

"Yes, Mr. Birak," he replied quickly, straightening instinctively. "I’m calling to inquire regarding Aren Frost’s interview tonight, cou—"

Before he could even complete his question, Birak grumbled on the other side of the phone.

"I don’t know!"

The response exploded through the speaker, rough and irritated.

"I’ve been kicked out of the network!"

Silence crashed into the room.

Neil’s eyes sharpened.

The secretary froze, shock washing over his expression as he instinctively glanced toward Neil.

What now?

Neil didn’t speak.

He didn’t need to.

A slight shift of his gaze was enough.

Ask.

The secretary swallowed and turned back to the phone.

"S-Sir Birak," he stammered, then forced his voice steady, "why were you suddenly removed?"

For a moment, there was silence.

And then, Birak snorted loudly, "It’s because of that bitch, Linda."

His tone shifted, irritation bleeding into something more bitter.

"I’ve been following orders without question. Years of loyalty—and for what?"

Another scoff.

"Just because Linda didn’t like me, Miss Ember fired me personally today."

The words came sharper now, resentment spilling over.

"And that’s not even the best part."

A humorless laugh.

"She promoted Linda to my position."

He was feeling wronged by the current circumstances. Even after following every order like a dog, he was kicked out. And for what reason? Simply because Linda didn’t like him.

However, Neil wasn’t interested in his grumbling as he waved his hand dismissively at his secretary, gesturing for him to leave.

From Birak’s words, it was clear that Linda was back at her job.

Moreover, Ember firing Birak personally could only mean one thing—Sun News was going to air the evidence against Lucian in around an hour.

For the first time in a long while, Neil felt anxious about the upcoming future.

He realized that he had fallen into a trap, and it was too late to get out unscathed.

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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)