Chapter 337
The elderly woman gently traced the book's spine with her fingertip.
"Isabella Sullivan… that name sounds so familiar."
She murmured to herself, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
The author's name on the cover made her pause.
The elderly man sighed softly, clearly also drawn in by the name.
They had only intended to browse casually, but found themselves increasingly engrossed.
The woman casually asked Sebastian Evans if he knew the author.
To her surprise, he nodded without hesitation.
Sebastian briefly explained his connection to Isabella Sullivan.
Isaac Atlante suddenly understood, recalling the girl he had met at Kinokuniya Books.
So, a book signing had been happening upstairs that day.
He couldn't help but smile. "What a remarkable coincidence."
Florence Atlante remembered the girl's gentle and refined manner of speaking, her heart stirring slightly.
"That child has excellent manners. So soft-spoken and polite."
She thought to herself, how wonderful it would be to see her again.
…
Nina Moore, as was her custom, flew to Australia to escape the winter cold.
Her studio employees were long accustomed to her annual disappearance at this time.
After all, the boss made good money; she deserved to enjoy herself.
But no one knew the exact source of Nina Moore's wealth.
They only knew it was a cultural publishing studio.
Nina Moore signed established authors every year.
Then these authors would simply vanish without a trace.
Once bestselling writers seemed to have run out of talent.
If they couldn't produce new work, why did Nina Moore keep signing them?
How did the studio actually make money?
"Stop overthinking it. We're just employees, why worry about that?"
"Just coasting along. The pay isn't great, but it's easy. But aren't you curious?"
"Curious about what?"
"Director Moore never produces hits. Signing authors costs a fortune. Where does her income come from?"
"Why ask? I don't know."
"Sister Omelas, you're in finance. The cash flow goes through you. Don't hide it from me. I promise I won't tell anyone!"
Sister Omelas hesitated for a moment, but her desire to share ultimately won out.
She lowered her voice. "Signing famous authors is definitely profitable."
"What do you mean?"
"These authors hold the copyrights to their bestsellers. Director Moore signs them and gets full copyright agency rights. Then she turns around and sells them for film and short dramas."
"Without the authors' consent?"
"The contract terms are all written clearly! When a signature is needed, they just get someone to forge it. The buyers never check."
"So all the money goes into Director Moore's pocket? The authors have no idea?"
Sister Omelas took a sip of her coffee. "How else could she afford luxury cars and designer goods? I heard one of her bags costs hundreds of thousands."
"Hermès."
"Tsk tsk... The worst case is that suspense author. The copyrights for her two early hits were sold off completely. They still bring in a five-figure income for the studio every month."
"A suspense author? There's an Isabella Sullivan who wrote 'Seven Day Tales' that's really popular lately."
"Isabella?!" Sister Omelas jolted. "The author who got fleeced was also named something like 'Min'."
"It couldn't be the same person, could it?"
"Impossible. Director Moore would never let her publish a new book." Sister Omelas relaxed.
"True." The colleague nodded.
Her finger secretly pressed the stop recording button under the table.
"Thanks for the coffee. This place is really hard to get."
"Glad you like it, Sister Omelas. Share more gossip next time!"
"Sure, sure!"
…
Nina Moore was in Australia, enjoying the sun and sand.
Her plan was to stay until spring before returning home.
Then one day, while shopping, she walked into a bookstore.
The English version of "Seven Day Tales" was prominently displayed in the window.
The author's name on the cover was in bold Chinese characters—
Isabella Sullivan!
Nina Moore's first thought was that it must be a different person with the same name.
She immediately logged onto domestic websites to search.
The results made her blood run cold.
It wasn't a different person. Her operation had been exposed!
She had been too absorbed in her vacation, neglecting to keep up with domestic news.
Isabella actually dared to betray her!
Nina Moore booked a flight home that very night.
After landing, she went straight to the high-speed rail station, heading for the neighboring city.
She had someone find Isabella's new address.
Staring at the impressive villa before her, Nina Moore smirked coldly.
So, she's making real money now?
Living in a detached house already