: Chapter

I was at the press launch for the Female-Led Prestige Drama I was funding and directing.

And on the spot, the Starlet my brother was promoting exposed my "true colors."

"Some new-generation female director? I personally saw her entertain several investors in one night. There was a constant stream of men coming out of her room."

"Sister, you're working so hard. How about your Sweetheart takes you for a little health check-up?"

My brother chimed in, a malicious grin on his face.

"Can't even land a single sponsorship? Haven't you slept with the right backers yet?"

Instantly, I was the laughingstock of the entire internet.

Everyone thought I was a shameless bitch who'd slept her way to the top.

But I just smiled.

'Since you love cozying up to capital so much, then let me, the real capital behind the scenes, play a little game with you!'

1

I held a grand press conference to promote the Female-Led Prestige Drama that I was funding and directing.

Under the flashing lights, I held a microphone.

"I may be a rookie director, but I dare say, this is going to be a fantastic film."

"I want to share my vision with everyone and show them the power of a new generation of women."

My passionate speech was met with a thunderous, unending round of applause.

Countless cameras were pointed at me. But beneath the wave of applause, a jarring voice cut through.

"Some new-generation female director? I personally saw her entertain several investors in one night. There was a constant stream of men coming out of her room."

My brother, Julian Sterling, walked in with Sylvia Vance, the Starlet he was heavily promoting.

Sylvia Vance was leaning against Julian Sterling's chest, her gaze dripping with contempt as she looked at me.

She'd starred in several hit shows thanks to Julian Sterling's investments, so she had a massive following of her own.

Her words stunned the entire room. The reporters swarmed her, their cameras flashing, hungry for more scandalous details.

Sylvia Vance spoke again. "Sister, you're working so hard. How about your Sweetheart takes you for a little health check-up?"

Not wanting to disappoint them, Julian Sterling sneered, "Can't even land a single sponsorship? Haven't you slept with the right backers yet?"

The reporters flocked to them like dogs that had just smelled meat on a bone.

"As the director's own brother, do you have some inside information for us?"

"Is it true that the director has an improper relationship with her investors, just as you've claimed?"

My partner, June Quinn, standing beside me, couldn't stand to see them slander me like this. She said angrily, "This is all complete nonsense! How can they malign you like this?"

"And Julian Sterling is going too far! How could he say that about his own sister just to fight over the family inheritance?"

She was about to rush the stage, but I grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Don't."

June Quinn's face was flushed with anger. "Are you just going to let them smear your name like that? What they're saying is horrible!"

I just smiled. "Let the bullets fly a little longer."

Infamy is still a form of fame. Julian Sterling and Sylvia Vance's little stunt was actually giving my film the publicity it needed.

Just as I expected, the next day I was the laughingstock of the entire internet. Vicious rumors about me were flying everywhere.

It was undoubtedly the handiwork of my dear brother.

"Seraphina Sterling's Slutty New Movie."

"Seraphina Sterling's Immoral Conduct."

The first few Trending Topics were all negative tags about me, each one marked with a fiery red "Hot" icon.

No doubt about it, this was my brother's doing.

Julian Sterling is the type of person who loves to kick people when they're down, and he especially enjoys using public opinion as a weapon.

The entire internet was buzzing about yesterday's press conference. Everyone believed I was a despicable bitch who had slept her way to the top, and they all rushed to condemn me.

"What right does someone who sells her body for resources have to direct a Female-Led Prestige Drama?"

"Whores can even show off in public these days?"

The staff at my studio were running around in a panic after seeing these online comments, urging me to make a public statement so it wouldn't affect the film's promotion.

But I wasn't worried in the slightest. While screenshotting the hateful comments and the Gossip Blogs spreading rumors, I spoke slowly. "What do you all know? Infamy is still a form of fame. If you ask me, I should be thanking my dear brother. Without him, would our movie be getting this much attention?"

I let out a small laugh, looking at their worried faces. "Relax. I'm not afraid because I've done nothing wrong. Those are all lies. The rumors will eventually fall apart on their own."

June Quinn was the first to let out a sigh of relief.

"Seraphina, I believe you."

Seeing how confident I was, the rest of the team calmed down as well.

As I watched the number of malicious stories about me on my phone grow, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

'My dear brother, I wonder if you understand the story of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. Since you love cozying up to capital so much, then let me, the real capital behind the scenes, play a little game with you.'

: 2

2

Julian Sterling and I have been competing with each other since we were kids.

There's no real family affection in a wealthy household, a fact that was especially obvious between Julian and me.

Growing up, I was better than Julian in every single way.

Whether it was academics or social skills, I was leagues ahead of him.

If he made it into the top three of his class, I was guaranteed to be first in the entire grade. The year of the High School Placement Exams, he was one point short of getting into the Provincial Magnet High School, and our family had to pull strings to get him in.

But it was different for me. Teachers were calling, begging me to attend. As the top student, not only was my tuition completely waived, but I was also placed in the Honors Program.

Even our relatives and friends would sing my praises whenever they mentioned me, yet never once brought up the fact that I had an older brother.

Julian resented me deeply for this.

He once declared with absolute certainty, "So what if you're more outstanding? You're still just a girl. Do you really think our Parents will let a girl inherit the family fortune?"

Seeing that smug look on his face, I just wanted to laugh.

He was trying to use this to break my spirit, but unfortunately for him, he was just too naive.

I shot back directly, "Are you still living in the last century? What era is this, that you're still peddling that 'men are superior to women' garbage? You think having a few extra ounces of flesh between your legs makes you nobler than me?"

Watching Julian's face turn ashen, I covered my mouth and laughed. "Forget it. Trying to reason with an empty-headed person like you is pointless; you probably wouldn't get it anyway. You just need to know one thing: I will always be stronger than you."

Julian wanted to argue back, but he couldn't squeeze a single decent sentence out of his brain. All he could do was snarl viciously at me, "All you can do is run your mouth! Don't you even think about getting the better of me, you bitch."

The breaking point came the day we came of age. Our Parents gave us each Twenty Million Dollars in seed money to start earning our own fortunes, with one condition: we couldn't use any family connections and had to live and work under new identities.

After five years, whoever had earned more money would win the inheritance rights to the family's entire fortune.

From that day on, Julian, who already couldn't stand me, officially declared war.

"Seraphina Sterling, your good days are over. Once you're out in the real world, we'll see how hard it is for a woman like you to get anywhere."

I couldn't be bothered to respond to him.

"Julian, why don't you try saying that again after you've actually managed to surpass me."

: A Swan's Ambition

3

After getting the money, I wasn't in a rush to invest. Instead, I took a portion of it to find a feminist screenwriter whom I deeply respected. I wanted to learn from her, hoping she could guide me in writing a good script that would help more women realize their own power.

I also spent a small fortune on courses in directing theory and sought out genuinely talented actors for my film—the ones who weren't famous because they had been suppressed by the industry's money-driven machine.

But the money I poured into it vanished like a stone in the ocean, without so much as a ripple.

Julian Sterling, on the other hand, took his money and immediately invested in the red-hot real estate market. As expected, he made a tidy sum when it came time to collect dividends.

Before long, he was driving a luxury car.

Julian Sterling flaunted his wealth everywhere. He even followed my lead into the film industry, investing heavily to promote the Starlet he was seeing and making a good deal of money in the process.

Unlike me, who had nothing to show for my efforts, Julian Sterling was now a boss with a net worth of Twenty Million Dollars.

While it was nothing compared to a truly wealthy family, he had still doubled the money our Parents gave him.

Seeing my continued lack of results, he mocked me directly.

"I thought you were supposed to be so amazing. Look how long it's been, and you haven't earned a single cent. You've probably burned through all the money, haven't you? Let me tell you, no one's going to watch the crap you're making. They all say you're smart, but I don't see it."

I just chuckled, refusing to argue with him.

After all, how could a sparrow understand the ambitions of a swan?

'What Julian Sterling didn't realize, however, was that I knew from the start this film wouldn't make money initially.'

'I was fully prepared to lose every penny.'

'But this was something I'd wanted to do for a very long time. If I didn't go through with it, I'd regret it for the rest of my life.'

I put very little money into the film's promotion; most of the budget went into production.

'For a movie to become a blockbuster, it needs a controversial hook.'

'Julian Sterling's attempts to tear me down were the perfect promotion for my film.'

'Besides, investing in the film was just a smokescreen to fool my simple-minded Brother.'

'The real money came from my other businesses.'

'What a joke. I'm an Ivy League PhD in Business, after all.'

'As the daughter of a top tycoon, I grew up surrounded by it. Making money is as easy as breathing for me. I was already worth over a hundred million by the time I started college.'