Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism novel Chapter 391

'Thank you. Please don't speculate or slander, my dear Lena. She just started her career and can't afford such rumours.'

'My goodness, some of Lena's fans are just too funny. Even if this was a camera mishap, isn't it a blessing for her to work with my bro? It definitely boosted her stature!'

'I've watched the video seventeen times. No matter how I look at it, it seems like Nolan was accidentally looking at the audience. The camera completely misled everyone! So annoying.'

'Wait, am I the only one who noticed someone missing from this row? It looks like Violeta's seat is empty.'

Violeta left before Nolan could finish his award speech.

It was Niall's birthday today, and she had promised to rush back to celebrate with him.

All eyes were on Nolan, so no one noticed Violeta quietly leaving the venue.

Few people realised she had slipped away.

Aster was waiting for her backstage. As soon as Violeta emerged, Aster draped a coat over her.

They discreetly left the film festival, avoiding the waiting media. Later, Eugene sent Violeta home.

At home, Violeta didn't check the trendy search on Facebook.

The TV in the living room was playing a live broadcast of the film festival.

Before Violeta's debut, the Whites rarely paid attention to the entertainment industry, mostly watching opera.

Following Violeta's rise to fame, entertainment news dominated TV.

Irene was the most avid viewer.

Tonight was no exception.

Violeta just came home; she hadn't had time to remove her makeup or change out of her gown. Irene immediately pulled her in for a selfie. She posted it on her social media with the caption, 'My superstar is home!'

She chuckled and said, "Mom, you're the real superstar here! I can't compare with you."

Irene gently touched her daughter's face and said, "Go remove your make-up. We'll wait for you to come down and have dinner with us."

After removing her makeup and changing into comfortable clothes, Violeta joined the family for dinner. She toasted Niall and wished him a happy birthday. After that, she finally picked up her phone to check Facebook.

In the trendy searches list.

Both Zelena and Nolan were trending.

But she didn't expect Zelena to outshine her.

In the car, Hattie fumed.

"How does Zelena get so lucky? The festival's cameraman must be blind. Nolan wasn't even looking at her, and yet she still managed to snag his spotlight. It's ridiculous. Maybe she bribed the cameraman!"

Her assistant chimed in, "It's not impossible. Zelena's team is notorious for this. I heard they were behind the rumours about Tracy's poor acting."

Carmen added, "But if Nolan wasn't looking at her, who was he looking at?"

Zelena and Hattie occupied the same row. Violeta's seat was between them and created quite a distance.

Hattie rolled her eyes and said, "He's probably just getting a passing glance. Zelena got ridiculously lucky this time, riding on Nolan's wave of popularity."

Carmen said thoughtfully, "But the seat directly below Nolan's gaze was empty. No one was sitting there."

Hattie replied, "Of course someone was. Violeta was sitting there, but she left halfway through."

"Violeta?"