Cardinal Richelieu

Lights, Camera, Action. Rebecca Jones is currently at the pinnacle of TV dramas. But how much longer? Everyone knows they don’t see behind the scenes. Rebecca’s private life isn’t for public consumption. What secrets are hidden there? Everett Stone, Rebecca's onetime co-star. He knows several of Rebecca’s secrets as they were once secretly married. Everett’s Gena’s current costar. Everett and Gena have had a tumultuous relationship. This man really gets around. Gena D’Or wants what Rebecca has. She’ll use any means necessary to take Rebecca’s place as the Rose of Black Dawn Productions. Gena’s close to her goal after years of trying. Crooked agents, a billionaire princess, many rumors, and dropping ratings. Rebecca is desperate to survive this cutthroat business. Everett’s interested in cutting his losses after his agent played him like a newbie for years. Everett can’t prove it yet. However, he receives an offer to reprise his original role as Dane Matthews, the male love interest of his ex-wife’s character Bella Cardinal, on the night-time drama Empire Nights. Will he leave Gena’s show, Grandview Place? To return to where he started. What about his ex-wife? Nothing’s the same on the Empire Night’s set. Rebecca isn’t the same. Everett finds he’s not as immune to his ex as he believed. Can he get his backstage pass to Rebecca’s private life back? Will he save her from whatever is destroying her? Or will he be the one to destroy her? How will they respond when the studio forces Rebecca and Everett to marry for the show's ratings? Money, misdirection, celebrity, secrets, and rumors make or break everyone in this business. What happens when the curtain falls and the lights go out?

Madam Pratt, my mother-in-law, was in critical condition after a car accident, desperately needing surgery. However, as the lead surgeon, I—Lilianne Davis—stood by, casually scrolling through short videos on my phone. My best friend, Tiffany Owens, who was also a doctor, was far more anxious than I was. She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the operating room. “Lily, why are you still stalling? Hurry up and save her!” I took a step back, clutching my stomach in pain as her face twisted in shock. “I have cramps so bad I can’t even stand. You do it.” In my last life, the moment I heard about Madam Pratt’s accident, I had swallowed a painkiller and rushed into surgery, working for hours to stabilize her. I had barely stepped away from the operating table when alarms blared. “Lilianne, what have you done? The patient is experiencing acute hemolysis!” “Call the family now!” Gareth Pratt stormed in, his face twisted with rage. He slapped me hard in the face. “Lil, you’re a professional surgeon, yet you gave my mother the wrong blood transfusion?!” I froze, reaching for Madam Pratt’s medical report to explain, only to find that the A-type blood I had seen before had somehow changed to B-type. The medical board arrived, and a blood test revealed traces of hallucinogens in my system. “Unbelievable! Taking illegal substances before surgery? That’s a cardinal sin for a doctor!” In the chaos, Emma Pratt, Gareth’s teenage sister, grabbed a scalpel and stabbed me multiple times. Blood gushed from my arteries, and I collapsed in a pool of crimson. As my vision faded, I couldn’t understand what had happened. I had never taken illegal drugs. Besides, I was absolutely certain of Madam Pratt’s blood type. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the moment right before stepping into the operating room.