Chapter 391: The News Matilda Brought Back

Chapter 391: The News Matilda Brought Back

Matilda's words pulled Emily back from the edge of awkwardness. She pushed James away and asked while methodically packing up the first aid kit, "Did something happen at work?"

"Well... how do I put this?"

Matilda furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment before saying, "One of the artists has gone missing."

"Missing?"

Emily stopped what she was doing and looked up at Matilda.

James also frowned slightly and turned his attention toward her.

"You both know I'm a music producer, right? I've been working with an artist from NovaStar Entertainment on a music album recently. Everything was going smoothly, the contract was signed, but today when I went to discuss more detailed arrangements with the artist, their manager told me he'd disappeared."

"Wait, did you say NovaStar Entertainment?"

Emily felt like she'd heard that company name somewhere before. After thinking carefully, she remembered—wasn't Hermione working at NovaStar Entertainment now?

"Yeah, you've heard of it?"

"Yes, Hermione works at NovaStar Entertainment now."

"This is the first I'm hearing of it."

Matilda said with surprise, "This is also my first time collaborating with a NovaStar Entertainment artist. I don't know much about this entertainment company that's only been around for a few years. The times I went to the company to discuss the collaboration, I never ran into Hermione either."

"Maybe it's because the company is so big with so many artists—it's normal not to bump into each other."

Emily thought for a moment and said, "Hermione mentioned her job is being a personal assistant to an artist."

"If this collaboration goes smoothly, maybe I'll have a chance to run into Hermione at NovaStar Entertainment."

Matilda nodded, not dwelling further on the matter.

"Matilda, could you tell us more details about this artist going missing?"

James suddenly spoke up.

"What, are you interested in this?"

Matilda raised an eyebrow, looking at James with some surprise.

Emily also turned to look at James, catching a glimpse of contemplation in his deep eyes.

"Isn't gossiping about the entertainment industry just human nature?"

"If anyone else said that, I might believe them, but you? Absolutely not."

Due to his personality and status, James had always shown zero interest in gossip of any kind, whether about himself or others.

For him to suddenly claim he enjoyed gossip—something was definitely up.

"Alright then, I'll tell you both."

Matilda walked over to the sofa and sat down elegantly. She nodded, gesturing for James and Emily to sit across from her.

"Why are you sitting so far apart? There's enough space between you two to drive a stake through."

Matilda glared disapprovingly at the person-sized gap between the two sitting across from her.

Seeing their somewhat uncomfortable expressions, Matilda was quite surprised.

"I haven't seen you two in a while—what's going on? Did you have another fight? But you were holding each other so tightly in the living room just now?"

"James, I'm not trying to lecture you, but as a grown man, can you stop picking fights with Emily? Emily is wonderful—what's so hard about giving in to her a little? You—"

"Matilda."

James coughed lightly, helplessly interrupting Matilda's lecture.

"We'll talk about our situation later. Let's discuss the important matter first."

"So you do find me naggy, huh? When you make Emily so upset she leaves, don't come crying to me!"

Matilda glared at James, muttering under her breath through gritted teeth.

Emily's hearing was sharp—she caught Matilda's quiet grumbling but could only pretend she hadn't heard.

"Alright, I'll continue then."

Matilda cleared her throat and went on.

"The missing artist's name is Bethany. He's eighteen, a newcomer to NovaStar Entertainment without much recognition yet. This music album collaboration was supposed to be his debut work."

As Matilda spoke, she pulled out a photo from her bag to show James and Emily.

The boy in the photo had delicate features—above average, but not particularly outstanding in the entertainment industry where beautiful men and women were everywhere.

But the pure, youthful smile on the boy's face was captivating.

"He's a very sweet, very genuine kid."

Matilda sighed. "When you've been in the entertainment industry long enough, you've seen every type of person. To occasionally encounter someone this pure and untainted, who hasn't been corrupted by darkness—it's truly rare. That's exactly why I agreed to NovaStar Entertainment's request to produce his debut album. But who could have imagined that right after signing the contract, the kid would disappear? I just hope nothing bad has happened to him."

"Could his disappearance be because someone at the company was jealous and deliberately harmed him?"

Emily speculated.

"That was my first thought too, but the police investigated his connections. This kid just joined the company not long ago—he doesn't know anyone, has no close friends, hasn't offended anyone. Who would have it out for him?"

"Does he have any family?"

James thought for a moment before asking.

Matilda shook her head.

"The kid's an orphan. I believe he came from a charity orphanage called 'Love and Care.'"

"'Love and Care Orphanage'? Is there such an orphanage in Emerald City?"

James questioned.

"That orphanage was destroyed in a fire ten years ago. The Thomas family was going through a rough patch at the time too, so it's understandable you didn't have the energy to pay attention to such matters."

As Matilda said this, she glanced at James with a complicated expression.

James's face darkened. He seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, pressing his lips together as a shadow flickered in the depths of his eyes.

Ten years ago was the ninth year after Hazel's disappearance, and also the most critical moment of the Thomas family's power transition.

That year, James's grandfather died of illness. On his deathbed, James's grandfather made a will leaving James the vast Thomas family fortune.

Kian and Xanthe naturally refused to accept this. They made a scene at home every day, demanding that James's grandfather change the will, arguing that as the heir, Kian should rightfully inherit the position of Thomas Group president, rather than bypassing Kian and giving the inheritance directly to James.

In the end, James's grandfather refused to change the will and was literally worried to death by Kian and Xanthe. The already strained relationship between James and his father Kian became even worse.

That period was the most chaotic time for the Thomas family, and when James was most mentally and physically exhausted. Of course he hadn't had the time or energy to pay attention to other matters.

Just then, Matilda's phone suddenly rang, interrupting James's unpleasant memories.

"Hello? Yes, this is she. Alright, I understand. I'll come over shortly."

After hanging up, Matilda shook her head helplessly. "That was Christopher, NovaStar Entertainment's CEO. He said since they can't find Bethany for now, he's asking if I want to work with a different artist instead."