At this point, the young woman cried even more bitterly and blurted out through her tears, "She stomped on my hand over the shards of ss, so I—"


    "No more excuses," Vicky snapped back. "Everyone here tonight is a member of high-society or wealthy. You miss your cue, and you can kiss this industry goodbye." She protested., "But I-"


    "String section, you''re up now. Get ready," Vicky directed without further notice and strutted out in her stilettos.


    Sadie quickly stepped aside as Vicky, dressed in a sleek ck pantsuit, headed into the makeup room across the hall, pping her hands and calling out, "Violinists, get set. You''re on in three minutes!" Sadie turned to see a young young woman with delicate features emerge from behind a folding screen, weeping profusely-her hands were trembling and soaked in blood, a harrowing sight.


    The young woman sat alone on a chair, awkwardly fumbling with an emergency kit in an attempt to tend to her wounds.


    But her hands were injured, her actions clumsy. She fumbled with the container for what seemed an eternity, unable to get it open.


    Sadie rushed over to help. "Let me do that for you."


    The young woman looked up at Sadie, startled at first, but then quickly murmured, "Thank you."


    Sadie opened the first-aid kit, reached for the iodine to disinfect the young woman''s wounds, and carefully used tweezers to remove the fragments of ss embedded in the skin.


    The young woman trembled with pain and bit her lip hard, trying not to cry out, though tears streamed down her face.


    "Your hands are badly injured. They need professional medical attention," Sadie said urgently, wincing in empathy. "You have to go to the hospital now, or you might not be able to use your hands again."


    "I can''t leave now. If I mess up this performance, it won''t matter if my hands heal. I''ll never y again." The young woman wept. "Please, just bandage them up to stop the bleeding. I''ll wear white gloves on stage..."


    "Are you kidding me? How can you y like this?" Sadie''s heart ached, her anger stoked by thoughts of Amelia''s actions. "Amelia is outrageous!"


    "It wasn''t a big deal. I just bumped into her. But she pushed me so hard, and when I fell, she actually stepped on my hand, pressing it into the ss..."


    The young woman shook with sobs.


    "It hurts so much. I cried and begged her, but she wouldn''t stop and kept pressing down. If it weren''t for thisdy pulling her off me, my hand would be ruined..."


    "Stop crying." Sadie wiped away her tears. "Here''s what we''ll do. I''ll perform in your ce."


    "You?" The young woman was taken aback. "You can y the piano?"


    "Yeah. Give me the sheet music, and I''ll go on stage for you," Sadie reassured her. "Don''t worry. I''ve won some international awards and performed on prestigious stages." "But won''t Vicky notice?" The young woman worried.


    "So what if he does?" Sadie responded bluntly. "She just wants toplete the mission and report back. As long as the performance goes well, it doesn''t matter who''s on stage."


    "You''re right." The young woman quickly fetched the music sheets, handing them over with her injured hands. "Thank you! You''re a lifesaver!"


    "No worries." Sadie nced at the white ballet-inspired dress the young woman was wearing. "We need to swap clothes."


    "Okay." The young woman nodded, then added cautiously, "But your clothes won''t fit me. I''ll wear my street clothes. Your dress looks expensive. I''ll take care of it, and we can swap back after you perform. I need to return this dress to Vicky." "Sounds good."