Piece together the retired actor's dramatic memoir by dragging the appropriate past-future forms into the text.

I was just about to deliver my heartbreaking opening monologue when a rather plump stray cat wandered onto the stage. I was absolutely terrified that the critics would tear my performance to shreds in the morning papers. However, as fate would have it, that furry little intruder was to become the most celebrated star of our entire theater season!

I was just about to deliver my heartbreaking opening monologue when a rather plump stray cat wandered onto the stage.

"Was just about to" perfectly captures an action that was on the very brink of happening before being unexpectedly interrupted.

I was absolutely terrified that the critics would tear my performance to shreds in the morning papers.

Here, "would" represents a past fear or prediction about the future. The actor thought, "They will tear my performance to shreds," which becomes "would" in the past narrative.

However, as fate would have it, that furry little intruder was to become the most celebrated star of our entire theater season!

"Was to become" is a literary way of expressing destiny or "fate" in the past—an event that happened later in the story but was already "written in the stars."