As soon as Sophie sorted out the penalty fee issue, they could all leave together.


    "Alright, you just need to pretend you know nothing and follow the n."


    Sophie was reluctant to say more, and Julian didn''t press further. From a distance, Johnny called out to Julian, "Julian! Captain! Let''s go!" Julian hesitated but eventually got into the car.


    Skye was in another vehicle and noticed Sophie hadn''t boarded yet, so she approached and asked, "Do you want to ride with meter?"


    "No, I''m not going to the show."


    "What? You''re not going to the show?"


    Skye was taken aback.


    The show they were about to join was a talentpetition. It was one thing for the talented Shirley to be dismissed, but now Sophie was also not participating.


    "How could you not tell me about such a big thing in advance?" Skye frowned and reached for her phone. "I need to discuss this with Mr. Gordon before making a decision." Sophie took out her phone and ced the chat history with Gordon from yesterday directly in front of Skye. "From now on, please follow my lead."


    Reading the chat history before her, Skye immediately put down her phone. She said solemnly, "Yes, Ms. Sophie."


    Meanwhile, the trainees had already arrived at the program''s makeup room. Since they were going on the show, the makeup artists were much better than before.


    Jean asionally looked towards the makeup room door, dissatisfied, "Why hasn''t Sophiee yet? Is she not nning to participate?"


    "Thatg might be for the best. This is a talent show, after all. One less person means one lesspetitor."


    "But we are a team. Without Sophie, doesn''t that mean we''re one person short? What if our stage performance is terrible, and we get eliminated?"


    "Being eliminated as a team is fine. We have so many people in one team, and how can you expect the audience to focus on anyone in particr? Isn''t Sophie not being here a good thing?" The group buzzed with discussion.


    Soon, the director''s team came in and announced, "Make sure the makeup is done meticulously today! Mr. Burke and Mr. Ricardo will be inspectingter!"


    This news made the already excited group even more thrilled.


    "Mr. Burke is also here? This show is definitely going to be a hit."


    "Mr. Burke couldn''t possibly being for Sophie, could he?"Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    "They''ve been separated for a while now, and with Sophie nowhere to be seen, how could Mr. Burke possibly be here for her?"


    The crowd chattered, not noticing a woman staff member standing in the corner, wearing a baseball cap.


    James stood in front of the program''s stage, nced at his watch, and asked, "Has Sophie not arrived yet?"


    Colt shook his head. "I checked. She''s not backstage."


    James fell silent for a moment, took out his phone, intending to call Sophie, but hesitated upon opening his contacts.


    At that moment, Ricardo''s voice came from not too far away. "Mr. Burke, what a coincidence."


    Ricardo''s unexpected arrival made James frown.


    Ricardo took a seat in the special guest area, stating, "This seat was supposed to be for Ms. Vanessa, wasn''t it?"


    Vanessa had beenying low due to Reece''s situation, waiting for a chance to clear her name. Now, this program was her opportunity to reappear in the public eye. "I''m not sure, but regardless of whose seat it might be, it''s certainly not your seat, Mr. Ricardo''s."


    Ricardo stood up, smiling, "There''s no need for such hostility towards me. I''m now a shareholder in the Aldridge Global trainee project as well. We''re all here to make money; let''s not make this unpleasant."


    Jamespletely ignored Ricardo.


    The director then came over and said, "Mr. Burke, Mr. Ricardo, how fortunate to meet you both. I''m the chief director of our program, and you can call me Kurt!" Neither man responded.


    The director continued, "Our show will start filming in an hour. Would you like to rest in our lounge? Or should we prepare dinner since the filming might runte tonight..."


    James interrupted, "The show is about to start. Is anyone not yet here?"


    "Is someone missing?" Kurt thought for a moment and replied, "I think that''s everyone."


    "What about Sophie?"


    James directly mentioned Sophie''s name, and the director immediately said, "Ms. Sophie had an issue and said she couldn''t make it, so she won''t be appearing in this episode."


    "She couldn''t make it?" James'' brow furrowed. "Did something happen to her?"


    The director quickly replied, "No, no, just a health issue. Ms. Sophie mentioned she wasn''t feeling well."


    "Doesn''t ''not feeling well'' mean


    something happened? What''s going


    With your director team?" James


    spoke coldly to Colt, "Go get the car and find out where Skye and Sophie are."


    "Yes, Mr. Burke!"