Third Person's POV
Calvert was silent for a moment. "There are rumors everywhere outside right now. A lot of people think you're dead, the Dalton family has changed hands, and Cliff is desperately searching for you. What exactly do you want to do?"
The smile on Vanya's face faded. "In the past, Vanya's identity was the eldest daughter of the Dalton family and Cliff's wife. But now, I am just myself, no longer bound by any identity, free to do whatever I want. And the final step to being myself is for Cliff and me to reject each other."
To mutually reject Cliff sounded easy, but doing it was much harder.
In the past, the Dalton and Todd families had business dealings and supported each other.
But in this marriage, Cliff had always held the upper hand, and she never had the right to bring up such matters.
But now, because of her 'death,' the two families had completely fallen out, and M Group and the Todd family had become rivals.
Although things had developed beyond expectations, everything was finally moving in the right direction.
She and Cliff were just one opportunity away from mutually rejecting each other.
She hoped Melinda hadn't let her down.
Calvert said, "Whatever you want to do, I'll help you."
Vanya smiled. "M Group will use all its resources to help you break into the entertainment market at home and abroad. I want to make you the brightest star of all."
"Alright," Calvert agreed without hesitation.
Seeing how quickly he agreed, Vanya couldn't help but say, "This path isn't as easy as you think. Are you really sure about this?"
"I'm sure." Calvert paused, then frowned. "But right now, there's someone standing in my way."
"I know, you're talking about Neville?"
Back then, she had sent Neville to the Todd family's media company, and unexpectedly, the kid had done quite well.
Because she had recommended him, the Todd Group gave Neville a big push, offering him all the best resources.
In just a few months, Neville, who had only been a second-tier actor at Dalton Group Media, was now able to compete with Calvert.
But all of this was within her expectations.
"Don't worry, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. Neville's private life is a mess, and there's plenty of dirt on him. He won't last long."
Vanya had sent Neville to the Todd Group precisely so she could use him one day, delivering a fatal blow to the Todd family's media company at the right moment.
For an artist like Neville, who spouted nonsense and relied on his good looks to act recklessly, it was only a matter of time before his career collapsed.
Hearing Vanya's words, Calvert immediately realized she had prepared a backup plan.
Sure enough, in less than three days, Neville was exposed in a shocking scandal.
It was right before the Best Actor selection, and Neville absolutely couldn't afford any trouble. But no matter how careful Todd Media was, they still couldn't guard against those tabloid reporters.
For a while, rumors about Neville having improper relationships with fans and being kept by a female CEO spread wildly online.
As soon as the scandals broke, the internet exploded. Many victims came forward to accuse him, with photos as evidence, leaving Neville with no way to defend himself.
After three days of fermenting, Neville was finally blacklisted by the industry.
Todd Media was thrown into a panic—the star they had invested so much in had turned into nothing overnight.
Not only that, Neville now faced massive penalty fees, most of which the company would have to pay.
Calvert looked at the news on his phone in Vanya's office and asked, "You knew this would happen all along?"
"Why else would I have sent Neville to the Todd Group?"
"You actually planted this seed so long ago. So you were already thinking this far ahead back then."
Calvert had to admit, he had underestimated Vanya before.
Vanya looked at the news on her computer about the Todd family facing a sky-high penalty and murmured, "At a time like this, how will Cliff respond?"
Recently, the Todd family had lost many partner companies to M Group, suffered major project setbacks, and had broken with the Dalton family.
Now, with the media company facing massive compensation, Cliff was definitely having a hard time these days.
At this moment, the Todd Group executives were holding an emergency meeting.
Everything that had happened recently was clearly targeted at them, and the mastermind was obviously M Group.
"Alpha Cliff, we can't go on like this! If we keep dragging things out, our Todd Group won't be able to hold on!"
"This M Group is going too far, pulling all these tricks behind our backs!"
"Todd Media says the penalty is at least five billion! Neville couldn't control himself, and now the whole family is paying the price! Alpha Cliff, you have to come up with a solution!"
The directors all spoke at once, and the meeting room quickly descended into chaos.
Cliff rubbed his brow wearily. "Enough! Everyone out. I'll handle this."
Though reluctant, the directors could only file out one by one.
Once everyone had left, Cliff opened his eyes and said to the Beta beside him, Elliot, "Go take care of it. However much Neville earned during this time, make him give it all back."
"Alpha Cliff, you mean..."
A cold glint flashed in Cliff's eyes. "You know what I mean. Do it cleanly—don't let anyone find out."
"Yes, Alpha Cliff." Beta Elliot quickly left.
At that moment, Cliff's phone rang.
He answered the call, and a staff member's voice came from the other end: "Is this Cliff? We've recovered the clothes Mrs. Todd was wearing when she fell into the sea that day. Please come and claim them."