Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism
Chapter 524 Suspicious

"It seems like I really need to look into how the casting for this movie was done back then."

Violeta gave Tuna the half-eaten strawberry.

Then, she grabbed her phone and dialed Kaylee's number, hoping to get some details about the movie's production.

Kaylee had been part of the movie, so she definitely knew more than Violeta could guess on her own.

When Kaylee picked up, Violeta found some unexpected information.

Kaylee confirmed Violeta's suspicions.

She was absolutely right.

Prior to Evelina's casting, another actress was a perfect fit for Mason's lead role.

Unfortunately, this person went through a traumatic event, suffered severe psychological damage, and ended up withdrawing from the entertainment industry altogether.

That person was Ava Sharp, a classmate who had been in the same year as Evelina.

Kaylee recalled, "I remember when I passed the interview and was called in for the audition, there was a tall, slender girl in line with me. After her audition, Mason kept her behind to discuss the role. Everyone thought she'd be the lead actress. Later, we heard something terrible happen to her, and she had to drop out of the movie."

Violeta asked, "Do you remember what happened?"

Kaylee replied, "I'm not sure. It was a private matter, so I didn't dig too deep. The crew didn't talk much about her either, because she wasn't part of the cast. After a while, no one mentioned her again."

Violeta couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story.

Something was definitely off about the cast.

Kaylee added, "Vio, why are you asking about this? Years have passed since the creation of this movie.

Violeta answered, "Kay, there's an audition for The Golden Age at the end of the month. You should try it out. Maybe you can land a role."

Kaylee was surprised. "Really? That's awesome! I'll get ready."

After a few more words of encouragement, Violeta ended the call.

She immediately opened her laptop and started searching the film academy forums, hoping to dig up some gossip about Ava.

The incident had happened years ago, and hardly anyone was discussing it online anymore.

Even the older posts about it seemed to have been scrubbed clean.

From the few remaining clues, Violeta pieced together what might have happened to Ava.

Ava's family wasn't well off her grandmother had kidney failure, and her parents were both working-class.

Therefore, Ava took on a part-time sales job during her university days to help support her family.

The tragedy struck one evening after work. Coworkers persuaded Ava to visit a karaoke bar, where a group of thugs drugged and assaulted her.

The incident caused a huge uproar.

Ava reported it to the police, but the school didn't want the scandal to spread, so they deleted many of the forum posts and set up filters to bleek any mentions.

Because of this ordeal, Ava lost the chance to sign the movie contract.

Even if she had, she wouldn't have been in any state to perform.

The event devastated her. She took two years off from school, during which her grandmother passed away. Ava only managed to graduate last year. What happened to Ava would have been a crushing blow to anyone.

Violeta felt deep sympathy for her.

After some digging, Violeta found a

blurry photo of Ava on the forum Despite the poor quality, it was clear

that Ava was strikingly beautiful, with bold yet refined features.

Ava had studied art, and she had a natural artsy vibe.

Violeta sent the photo to Kaylee, who confirmed it.

QUMS

"Yes, that's her. She's even more beautiful in person-tall and slender with an amazing presence. We all thought she'd be the lead, but it's such a shame she didn't get the role."

Violeta then found a picture of Evelina on Facebook and compared it to Ava's.

Both women had similar styles-Ava often wore white, and so did Evelina.

They both had their hair parted in the middle.

At first glance, they did look somewhat alike, but upon closer inspection, their features were different.

Evelina had sweeter, more delicate features, which limited her versatility as an actress.

In contrast, Ava's looks were more dynamic-she could pull off both sweet and strong roles, and she had a grace that Evelina lacked.

As Violeta studied Ava's photo, she tapped her fingers rhythmically on the desk, deep in thought.