Chapter 23: Aristotle Steininger

"Come sit, I would love to know one of my contestants" he motioned me to sit on the chair in front of his desk. I sat there uncomfortably. He pointed a glass container with a dark red beverage,

"wine?" He offered and I shook my head. He sat in a more professional position.

"Is the staff treating you well? Are you satisfied with the hotel and everything else?" He asked and I said,

"yeah, everything is perfect" Not exactly. There's obviously something wrong in this whole place and I need to make him believe that I actually love it here. To not make him suspicious of me and the group. I mean, he saw me enter this room when there's a restricted sign at the beginning of the hall.

"Perfect, we promised good service ever since you guys arrived and of course, the Starsdom crew never disappoints" he pointed up and smiled. He sipped some of that "red wine" and his lips were stained. He licked them and hummed,

"you are missing the good stuff," he said and I just stared at him. That was weird. I really want to get out of here. I don't know what it was but I got saved. He looked at his watch and said,

"you should be going now. The show's almost starting. I hope to see you perform" he gave me a weird grin. He walked me out and I left rapidly. I returned to my group.

"What happened. Are you ok?" Jacks asked placing his hand on my shoulder staring into my soul.

"I just met the creator and I'm freaked out" I said as Jacks held me. Louise looked worried and Clarissa couldn't stop pacing, Damien walked to us and he immediately asked what happened. I told them I was going to explain all of it in the hotel, after the show. It was too risky talking about it here. We all got prepared to enter the stage. The host came out happy as ever and introduced us like always.

Claire Tree was the first person to perform. Her vocals were so soft and clear. Her song was so satisfying. She obviously received good comments from the judges. It landed on Elizabeth Abraham and she sang a nostalgic 2000's like song. Pretty good, actually. But it wasn't going to make her win the show, for sure. It landed on me. Damien wished me luck.

I took a deep breath and I went backstage. They set up a mic stand in the center of the stage. I walked to the stage and placed the mic on the stand. A spotlight shined on me and the rest of the stadium was dark. The fans quickly turned on their phone flashlights. The song started and I sang it exactly like the record. The place was silent I could only hear my voice and the soft production. The echoes sounded beautiful on the speakers and it gave life to the song. I finished and I stood there catching my breath. The crowd stared at me and didn't move. After a few seconds, the people went wild and cheered like never before. I looked back and all of the contestants stood clapping. Jacks gave me a wink and two thumbs up. And Damien smiled at me nodding. The judges were on their feet as well. They were speechless and didn't say much but I know they loved it. Jacks was the last one to perform. They placed a stool right in front of me. What's happening, why are they placing Jacks's stool in front of me? He walked to the stage and sat in a position facing me.

"Before I start, this song is dedicated to one special person. Adryan Levithan, listen to the words" he gave me a warm smile and the crowd, "oohed" He started singing a simple ballad, but the lyrics were beautiful and romantic. He looked at me throughout the whole performance and all the contestants looked at me, making me uncomfortable. He finished singing, walked to me, and kissed my hands. The crowd, "awwed"

"Wow, that was touching," said the host drying her eyes. The show ended and we all immediately went to Jacks's room to talk about what happened.

"It was so weird. The entire room was red, like blood colored red, And he was so interested in how I was treated here" I said pacing around his room. "He wasn't angry at you for sneaking into his office?" Clarissa asked tapping a pen on a notepad. She had all the clues we've found here on that notepad. We had a hard time figuring out how this is all connected. "Anything else?" She asked.

"He offered me this weird wine" I said and Clarissa wrote again.

"Ha! It could be blood. They all seem to be obsessed with it!" Clarissa raised her voice and Jacks didn't agree.

"What was his name?" Louise asked. "Aristole. Aristole Steininger" I've never seen him before. He's not famous or anything, he just came out of nowhere. That's what's weird. How can a random person create a show? And how the hell did he get all that money to make everything, the stadium, hotel, the label? Somehow that promise of "instant fame" I don't quite trust it yet.

"Once we figure everything out. We have to make a plan, because we can't just barge in revealing everything to everyone expecting them to believe us" Damien said and I agreed with him. Many people can't know what we're doing. The more people know, the faster everything spreads, and that would cause us problems. It's not going to be easy. We all got alerted to come to the lobby. What now? Another rule added to the show. Are four people going to be eliminated instead of three? I don't know. We all waited and Aristole entered the hotel. Everyone was confused.

"Who's he?" said one of the contestants named, Hayley. The concierge rapidly prepared a spot for him to stand up and be taller, for him to see us all.

"Hey everyone, I'm the creator of the show, Aristole. And I'm here to see you guys in person. Tomorrow, three are leaving and in a few weeks, there's going to be a special announcement" Some people whispered, asking what the special announcement could be. "Oh, and one more thing. Just remember, the Starsdom crew and I are always watching you" he made eye contact with me and gave me a small, evil, creepy, grin. My heart froze. I grabbed Jacks hand and I held it tight making him flinch. "What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. "I think he knows" I said.