Rewind With A Superstar System-Chapter 88: Five Million Dollars

<🎧 Song Recommendation: Fall Back by Lithe>

...

Von stared at her.

Five million dollars. The number echoed loudly in his head. It wasn’t just money; it was life-changing, generational wealth. It meant buying a house immediately. It meant never having to worry about budget constraints, camera rentals, or begging for corporate sponsorships ever again. It was the exact power he needed to truly become a King in this industry.

"What’s the catch?"

"No catch," Diana smiled warmly. "Just a standard 360-deal. We take a percentage of your touring, your merchandise, and your masters. And, of course, you would have to transition your management to our elite internal team."

Von’s eyes went cold instantly. "You want me to fire Emily."

"Emily Brooklyn is a fantastic assistant, seriously," Diana said with a straight face, using the name like a weapon. "But she was blacklisted from the major leagues for a reason. She doesn’t have the leverage to handle a global superstar. I am offering you the keys to the kingdom, Von. Don’t let a misplaced sense of loyalty keep you locked out."

"Don’t you dare," Emily finally snapped and her composure shattered. She stepped forward, her hands balled into tight fists.

"Don’t you dare stand there and pretend you care about his career, Diana. You just want to own him before he gets too big for you to control."

Diana let out a short and dismissive laugh. "Emily, please. Stop projecting your own failures onto him." She looked back at Von, her expression turning deadly serious. "She doesn’t want the best for you, Von. She wants you to stay small so she can feel important. I am giving you the world. But it’s up to you to decide."

Diana reached into her designer handbag. She pulled out a sleek, matte-black business card with the silver Circle Media logo stamped on the front. She held it out to him.

Von didn’t reach for it. He just stared at her.

Without breaking eye contact, Diana reached over and tucked the heavy card directly into the front pocket of Von’s jacket.

"Think about it," Diana said, her voice returning to that smooth, polite purr. "I’ll give you until Friday."

"And... don’t bother about your contract with her," Diana added, throwing one last, dismissive glance at Emily. "We’ll settle her adequately."

"I’ll be expecting your call."

With that, Diana slid the door open and vanished back into the loud, crowded steakhouse, leaving Von and Emily standing alone in the cold New York air.

Emily remained still, her mind was still mulling over what had just happened. Deep down, she knew Diana was wrong. With her bad stain, she’ll only hold back Von.

And the offer was perfect for him. Von, meanwhile, reached into his jacket pocket.

His fingers brushed against the sleek, matte-black business card Diana had tucked there. He pulled it out, turning it over in the dim light. The silver Circle Media logo gleamed arrogantly.

"Five million dollars," Emily whispered to the wind. "She offered you five million dollars, Von."

"I was standing right here, Em. I heard her."

"She’s right," Emily finally conceded, her voice cracking slightly. She finally turned to look at him, and Von was shocked to see genuine defeat in her eyes.

"She is a snake, and she is ruthless, but she isn’t lying about the ceiling. I can hustle, but I can’t fund a multi-million-dollar global stadium tour out of my checking account. You’ll remain held back with me."

Von frowned, stepping closer to her. "What are you saying?"

"I’m saying you should take the card and call her," Emily said, trying to sound tough.

"It’s a five-million-dollar advance. It guarantees your career as long as you remain focused. You—"

"And what about you?" Von interrupted her, his violet eyes locking onto hers.

"I’ll be fine. Like Diana said, I’ll get an adequate settlement. I can take that money and start up something new. Don’t bother about me."

Von stared at her for a long, heavy moment. He looked at the woman who had found him when he was a reality TV outcast and had sacrificed so much despite her mental scars just to build him.

Von slowly lifted his right hand, holding the sleek black business card between his index and middle fingers.

"A 30-deal, huh?" Von muttered, looking down at the card.

"Yes," Emily sighed. "They take a cut of your touring, your merch, your sponsorships, your masters. Everything. But in exchange, they give you the world."

"You know what that sounds like to me?" Von asked.

He stepped right up to the edge of the glass railing and leaned his face close to hers.

"It sounds like a white room. It sounds like a bunch of executives in white masks trying to powder my face and tell me how to smile."

Before Emily could process his words, Von’s hands moved. With a swift, aggressive tear, he ripped the heavy cardstock perfectly in half, right before her face.

Emily gasped, but Von didn’t stop. He stacked the halves and ripped them again.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the shredded pieces of the Circle Media business card over the edge of the balcony. They fluttered away into the dark New York wind, swallowed entirely by the city.

"Von... what did you just do?" Emily breathed in disbelief. "That was five million dollars!"

"Nah, that was a leash," Von corrected her with a laugh. "Diana Sterling doesn’t want to build me. She wants to own me. If I sign that contract, I’m just putting the golden mask back on. So I good here."

His decision seemed immature and arrogant, like something is wrong a non-professional would do. But Von had thought long about this. Even though he was in for the money, above all he wanted to be different. He couldn’t imagine himself being controlled by someone in that way.

Von turned to face Emily once again. "We just hit Top Three on the Billboard charts. We just crashed Vanguard’s servers and sold out an entire fashion line in twelve minutes. We did that. You and me. We did it all without any label!"

Emily stared at him, the defeat in her eyes slowly cracking, replaced by a flickering spark of the old fire.

"We don’t need Circle Media to build a kingdom," Von declared. "We are going to build our own, and we’ll get to keep everything along the way."

Von offered her an arrogant grin and stretched his hand.

"So, Emily Brooklyn. Are you going to stand there and cry about a snake in a red dress, or are you going to help me bury her?"

The silence stretched for three seconds.

Then, Emily let out a sharp exhale. The tension drained from her shoulders, and a predatory smile slowly spread across her face. The armor was back.

"You’re a stubborn kid, you know that?" Emily smirked. "But hell yeah, I’m in!"

Her hands met his, and a note rang through Von’s head immediately.

Ding!

It was at that moment the System came alive from its slumber.

[System Alert: Narrative Shift Detected.]

[You have officially rejected the path of Corporate Subjugation. The ’Independent King’ narrative has been solidified.]

[New Milestone Quest Triggered: The Empire Business]