Sham Marriage Quit Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 53

"Sophie, can you show me how to set this up?"

Before Sophie could finish explaining, a girl with long hair stood up from across the room. Elena recognized her immediately. It was Luna, the one who had interviewed the same day she did.

Luna noticed her too and gave her a tight smile that did not reach her eyes, then called Sophie away.

"Thanks, I've got it," Elena said politely.

She followed the steps Sophie had started to outline, contacted IT, confirmed a time slot, then went up to the ninth floor to get her system permissions activated.

When she came back from the IT department, she saw a familiar figure standing near the office entrance.

"Ryan?"

He was on the phone. The second he saw Elena, he ended the call.

"Miss Sterling."

He was all smiles. They walked to the other end of the hallway so they would not block anyone's way.

"Could you thank Mr. Kingsley for me?" Elena said. "I owe him one."

Ryan waved it off. "You're too kind. Bringing someone with your background over here is a win for Velmora."

Just then, his phone rang again.

"Sorry, I need to take this."

"Go ahead."

He answered. Whatever the person on the other end said made his expression shift.

"Okay. I'll be right there."

He gestured apologetically at Elena while already moving, then hurried toward the elevators with a sense of urgency she had rarely seen from him.

Elena watched him go, puzzled. It was unusual to see Ryan look like he was bracing for impact. Who had just walked into the building?

Less than half an hour later, she found out.

The door opened. HR walked in with a young woman wearing a pink fitted tee and cut off denim shorts. From across the room, the girl spotted Elena and waved enthusiastically.

Elena waved back just as fast. It was Sophia.

HR led Sophia into Lydia's office.

Less than five minutes later, Lydia came out with Sophia and stopped in front of Elena.

"Starting today, she's your assistant."

"Elena, there's a fire on Kingsway Avenue. You've covered incidents like this before. Take someone and head over."

Her voice carried across the entire floor.

Every pair of eyes turned toward Elena. Some of them looked almost relieved.

Breaking news like this was the last thing most reporters wanted. It was dangerous, and if there were casualties, they would need to follow up closely with victims and families who were usually hostile toward the press. Still, if they wanted a complete story, they had to be there from start to finish.

Elena snapped back into focus. "Understood."

She quickly gathered the equipment needed for on site reporting, grabbed Sophia, and left the building. They drove straight to Kingsway Avenue.

The moment she stepped out of the car, the sight in front of her made her stomach tighten.

An older residential building was on fire. Even standing across the street, she could feel the heat radiating from it.

Two fire trucks were already parked out front, hoses blasting water upward, but the flames were still fierce.

Reporters from other magazines and media outlets were broadcasting live from behind the barricades.

Sophia struggled with the streaming setup, clearly unfamiliar with the gear. Elena did not have time for a full lesson, so she adjusted everything herself. Thankfully, she knew the equipment inside and out. Within minutes, they were live, delivering updates from the scene.

After finishing the first segment, Elena pulled Sophia back a few steps to avoid interfering with the firefighters.