Air outside the Chinese Theatre was electric, a physical hum that vibrated through the soles of my feet even inside the climate controlled sanctuary of the limousine. This was the moment the industry had been anticipating for months. The premiere of Eternal Flame was not just a movie opening; it was the formal coronation of the new power dynamic in Hollywood.
I looked at my reflection in the darkened window. My stylist had chosen a gown of liquid gold that clung to my curves like a second skin, a daring choice that signaled confidence rather than modesty. Around my neck sat a vintage emerald necklace from the Caldwell vault, a deep, mossy green that matched the fire in my eyes. I was no longer the starlet hoping for a break. I was the woman who had survived the wolves and climbed the mountain.
