Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism novel Chapter 399

Hattie watched Tracy on stage, who was putting on a show. Covering her mouth with her hand, she leaned toward Zelena and whispered, "She found a sugar daddy, which is why she won the award."

Zelena asked, "Seriously? Is that true?"

Hattie often had insider information because Hannah had a wide network and was known as the "madam" in the industry.

That was why Hattie could get into a high-end couture dress so quickly after Violeta.

If Hannah didn't have such high hopes for Hattie and wasn't worried about the Ridges's reputation, Tracy wouldn't have had to go to such lengths.

In this business, if you were willing to take risks, you'd end up doing better than everyone else.

Hattie said, "Do you not believe me? Just wait and see—now that she's won an award, her ego's going to be through the roof."

Zelena stayed silent.

Hattie had a good attitude about it because she didn't care much about the Best Newcomer Award and wasn't interested in competing for it.

Tracy wanted the award mainly to boost her commercial value and attract better opportunities.

With Hannah as her support, Hattie didn't need to worry too much about securing resources for herself.

For Hattie, winning or losing an award wasn't as important as whether she was popular, how big her presence was, and how good she looked.

She was all about using her star status to hook up with a wealthy guy and marry into a rich family. A few years down the line, she wanted to be a key player in helping Benson take over the Ridge family.

Being a star wasn't a forever career, so she was focused on using her youth and looks to find a big supporter early on.

But Zelena wasn't having it. She was super competitive and wanted to stay ahead of Tracy.

Now that Tracy won the award and her status had shot up, Zelena's not happy about it at all.

She couldn't do much about it, so she was now trying to find some balance by focusing on Violeta.

Violeta was sure she'd win the Best Newcomer Award, but she had miscalculated and was taking the biggest hit.

Violeta was definitely feeling the blow.

But she's used to handling tough situations, having faced many challenges and low points in her previous life.

She knew people were waiting for her to fail, so she had to keep her cool.

She had already anticipated that Tracy might win the award, so she knew disappointment was inevitable.

Violeta was more concerned about what to do next if she didn't win the Best Newcomer Award.

She glanced at the jewellery she was wearing and realised her worst fears had come true—she was about to let Eugene down.