Chapter 425

The museum was divided into two parts: the outer gallery and the inner chamber. The outer gallery showcased some of the museum's permanent collection-think old baseball cards, antique typewriters, and quirky Americana. But the inner chamber? That's where they kept the truly priceless stuff. The stuff that could headline an episode of Antiques Roadshow or make it into the Smithsonian.

And for the grand unveiling? The inner chamber was strictly invite-only. Regular folks had to make do with the outer displays. Only a select group of VIPs-old- money families, blue-blooded aristocrats, high-ranking officials, and a handful of experts were allowed in for the first look.

Miranda was one of those VIPs.

Most of the special guests had names that went back generations, or else were famous scholars or government types. Because of their status, they had a private showing, separate from the general public.

So when Miranda stepped out of her sleek black sedan chauffeur at the wheel- she was immediately ushered inside by a staff member in a crisp navy blazer.

She walked into the inner chamber and, with one glance, recognized quite a few familiar faces. This wasn't a crowd of young socialites; these were the real power players. The actual decision-makers. There were only a handful of young people scattered among them.

This meant Miranda's arrival turned more than a few heads.

Even if some of the guests hadn't met her in person, Miranda's face was pretty well known. She'd been popping up in the news a lot lately, especially with her latest cameo on a hit TV drama. She was suddenly everywhere, her star rising fast.

Strangely enough, even after her meteoric rise, Miranda kept a low profile-no red carpet appearances, no talk shows, no endless Instagram updates. People joked that Ms. Lancaster was already being "memorialized" while still in her twenties. Not long ago, her name had been all over the tabloids, rumors swirling about her connection with the Hawke family. It was like some serialized soap opera-stories about swapped-at-birth heiresses, truth and fiction blurring together.

And then, just like that, Miranda vanished from the public eye. Occasionally, someone would snap a photo of her with Virell, but those photos would mysteriously disappear from the web almost instantly.

It got so weird that even if someone kept a picture of Miranda on their phone, it would just... vanish.

So even if some guests hadn't seen her in person, they all recognized her face. After all, she was Ms. Lancaster-the adopted daughter of the Lancaster clan. In the upper echelons of Virell society, everyone knew Miranda.

When the movers and shakers started coming over to greet her, the few young heirs in the room looked a little stunned. It hit them: while they were still out partying, Miranda had somehow managed to become their parents' peer.

Ian Bartley was there too. He'd thought of going over to say hi, but his father beat him to it. At that moment, lan realized just how big the gap was between Miranda and the rest of the so-called "second generation."

Even though Hugo Bartley was practically top-tier among the heirs—already running some successful ventures-he still couldn't compare to Miranda. None of them really understood how she'd pulled it off. But their parents treated her with a respect they didn't even show their own kids.

lan had a vague idea, but not the full picture. Still, since he was on friendly terms with Miranda, seeing her treated like this gave him a sense of pride by association.

Miranda exchanged polite greetings with everyone who came over, even though small talk wasn't really her thing. After all, she was standing in for her godmother, so she made sure to be gracious and composed.

A few of the guests who had business ties with the Lancaster Group found themselves having a real conversation with her. Miranda could casually mention the projects their companies were working on together discussing detalls like she'd actually been in the

boardroom.

"Didn't expect Ms. Lancaster to be so familiar with the details of this project," one of them said, genuinely surprised.

Miranda just smiled. "I read up on it a bit. But today's about the exhibition, not business, right?"

The other guest laughed, clearly impressed—and just a little more respectful.

The truth was, Miranda didn't usually

get involved in the day-to-day business, but she wasn't clueless either. She read the quarterly reports kept an eye on the big moves. And whenever she

represented the Lancaster Group at events, she'd make sure to brush up on the latest updates.

After all, right now, she was the public face of Ms. Lancaster.

Suddenly, someone else came over and said in a low voice, half-joking, "I heard Ms, Lancaster is also CEO of Flying Fish Entertainment and its investment group. Gotta say, your picks have been on fire

lately—everyone's jealous of Flying Fish Investment Corp's recent projects."

Clearly, he was trying to flatter Miranda, hoping to get on her good side. He introduced himself, chatted for a minute, and then moved along.

Miranda blinked. CEO? Since when?

She frowned. Was she the last to know?

Just then, lan found his chance to approach her. "Miranda! I didn't expect to see you here. I tried to say hi earlier, but you were swamped. Want me to show you around? The inner chamber's way cooler than the stuff outside."

Miranda gave him a look. "Did you know I'm apparently a CEO now?"

lan looked surprised. "Of course! Everyone's talking about it. In the last couple of days, the whole circle knows you're running Flying Fish Legion and its investment group. Why didn't you tell me? We could've partnered up!"

Miranda just stared, her mouth twitching. Marion, that sneak. Would it have killed him to give her a heads-up?