Reborn With a Money-Making System: Ruined Actress to Nation's Treasure-Chapter 122: The Enemy in the Front Row

Two days later, I finally returned to the Green Leaf studio. This time, I understood exactly why Penny had given me that ridiculous quest.

If I had to put it simply... she must’ve known something bad was coming my way.

"Good morning, Helcia."

I froze for a second when I saw that face. Kai Brixton was sitting right there, among the executives watching the third-round auditions, smiling like he owned the place.

Who in their right mind would’ve expected the head of Brix Entertainment to show up at a small drama audition like this?!

Even the producer, Eric Donelly, looked completely thrown off, glancing between Kai and his notes like he was trying to make sense of the situation.

Seriously, why was he here?! Why did this evil incarnation have to sit in front of me, smiling like a wolf pretending to be a harmless little lamb?!

No matter how deep my hatred toward Kai Brixton ran—even though he had never done anything directly to me yet—I still forced myself to smile at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Brixton," I greeted softly, keeping my usual polite smile. "It’s such a pleasure to see you here."

The studio fell silent for a moment. I could tell that people already know that I had some sort of close connection to the Brixton family, at least those who hadn’t attended the charity gala.

Meanwhile, someone like Eric Donelly clearly knew there was bad tension between us. Still, we both hid it so well that no outsider could even sense it.

"You don’t have to act so formal with me," Kai said casually. "It’s not like this is our first time meeting."

I kept my expression pleasant, but inside, my patience was hanging by a thread. I was sure he was trying to make it look like if I got the role, it would be because of nepotism.

No wonder Lando had warned me to stay alert around him. It turned out Kai was far more dangerous than his brothers because he could destroy someone’s career without even raising his voice.

"I prefer keeping our relationship as professional as possible, Mr. Brixton," I said politely, meeting his eyes. "Besides, this is only our second meeting."

Kai’s smile widened, looking amused by my response. He probably thought I would use his presence to my advantage, or act meek to avoid any conflict with him.

But like hell I would.

I had worked too hard to get to this point, and I wasn’t about to crumble just because of a few veiled threats from him.

"Alright, I think we can start the audition now," Eric finally said, clearing his throat to cut through the tension. His eyes darted nervously toward Kai, probably checking his reactions every time Kai looked at me.

"Helcia," Eric continued, "for today’s audition, we’d like to see how strong your chemistry is with the male lead. We have a few candidates for the role, and we’ve randomly paired them with actresses who might play Mia."

He went on to explain the setup and which scene they wanted me to perform. I hadn’t met my partner yet, which made me even more curious.

"Don’t worry," Eric added quickly, sensing my slight hesitation. "Your partner’s performance won’t affect your score. What we really want to see is how well you can build chemistry on your own."

I nodded, though my mind was already spinning. That kind of challenge wasn’t easy. Creating chemistry out of thin air took instinct, skill... and a little bit of luck.

I mean, sure, I could create chemistry between me and my co-star, but if my co-star’s acting was really terrible, it would definitely make things harder for me.

A moment later, Eric gave a small nod to the staff, signaling them to bring in the actor who’d be performing with me.

The door opened, and in walked a young man who looked like he could easily play a high schooler. Still, he didn’t seem that much younger than me, maybe a year or two at most.

Since I’d never seen him before, I assumed he was new to the industry. The way he nervously fidgeted and kept lowering his head every time the executives looked at him only confirmed it.

But even so, one thing was clear; he was handsome. The kind of handsome that made you think, ’yeah, the audience will eat this guy up’. If he could act even half-decently, his chances of getting the role of Dion were pretty high.

"Nice to meet you," he said, stepping forward and offering his hand. His smile was polite but a little unsure. "I’m Tommy Wood."

I returned his handshake with a smile of my own. "Nice to meet you, Tommy," I said softly. "I’m Helcia Orszebet."

"Alright," Eric said, clapping his hands once to get everyone’s attention. "Let’s start with scene twelve; Mia and Dion’s confrontation after the rain."

I nodded and took a few steps toward the marked spot on the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Kai still sitting there, watching me with that unreadable smile that made my skin crawl.

Oh, whatever.

I’d make sure he understood that I wasn’t just his brother’s wife, but I was someone with real talent.

I took a deep breath, straightened my posture, and turned to face Tommy. The moment the camera light blinked red, everything else disappeared. I couldn’t feel the producer, the judges, or even Kai’s suffocating presence anymore.

Right now, there was only Mia, and the heartbreak she could no longer hide.

"What do you want, Dion?" I began softly, letting my voice tremble just enough. I stared blankly at the young man in front of me. "Your friends already tore my uniform. I don’t think there’s anything left for you to break."

Tommy froze for a moment, clearly trying to find his rhythm. Then, slowly, he slipped into character.

His lips tightened, and he swallowed hard, guilt flickering in his eyes like he truly felt the weight of Dion’s mistakes.

"I can buy you a new one," he said quietly. His voice was low, almost uncertain, like even he knew that no amount of money could fix what he’d broken. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

At that moment, I knew I was lucky today because my co-star wasn’t some clueless newcomer.