Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 826

Lucinda could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her whole body tensed, and she felt anger boiling up inside her. So that was it. Elliot was showing Lydia around his studio. He had lied about rehearsing. They were all just making up excuses.

This was supposed to be her moment. She was the one who deserved all that attention, not Lydia. How did Lydia end up getting everything that was meant for her? The unfairness of it all stung.

A staff member noticed the change in Lucinda’s expression and hesitated before speaking. “Lucinda?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Lucinda forced a smile. “I got it. Thanks for letting me know.”

The staff member looked relieved and shook his head quickly. “No problem at all. I’ll get back to work now.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lucinda said.

She walked out of the building, her face set in a scowl, feeling more bitter with every step she took. This had to be Lydia’s idea. She must have convinced Elliot to say those things. There was no way Lucinda was going to let Lydia win like this. If they thought they could keep her away from Elliot, they were wrong. She was determined to see him, no matter what.

Around noon, Elliot took Lydia out for lunch.

“There’s a buffet close by that’s actually pretty great. Want to check it out?” he offered.

Lydia nodded. “Sure.”

She handed him two sheets of paper she’d been working on earlier when she was bored. They were new pieces of music she had just written.

Elliot’s eyes lit up as he looked over the sheets. “Lydia, I swear, you’ve just handed me the biggest gift.”

Lydia grinned. “Come on. We’re family. If there’s a good deal, I’m giving it to you.”

Elliot laughed. “You know, this is the kind of thing you can’t buy, no matter how much money you have.”

At that moment, Leo walked up, catching the end of their conversation. He looked curious. “What’s this priceless treasure you’re talking about? Let me see.”

Lydia burst out laughing at his reaction. She played along. “Me, me, me… what are you trying to say?”

Leo gaped at her, barely able to form the words. “You’re not… Melody Mastro, are you?”

Lydia let out a sigh and shrugged. “You got me.”

Leo felt like his brain had short-circuited. This had to be a dream. The legendary Melody Mastro was actually just an eighteen-year-old girl standing right in front of him?

Elliot saw how stunned Leo was and decided to rescue him. “Let’s talk about this after lunch. Lydia’s hungry. Food first.”

Leo watched them walk away together, his mind still reeling.

Thinking about it, though, it all started to make sense. For years, everyone in the business—Elliot included—had tried to work with Lorelei and Melody Mastro, but both had always turned them down. It wasn’t just them. All the other big stars had gotten the same cold shoulder. Lorelei only ever performed at her own concerts, and Melody Mastro was a complete mystery.