"Slander?" Fanny sneered coldly. "They don't need me to do that. None of those people are decent to start with."Aria pushed Fanny's arm down. "You lied during the police interrogation and posted those slanderous comments online. Do you want to guess at how you'd end up?"Fanny froze. Tears streamed down her face as she protested indignantly, "Am I in the wrong? I was just venting online. "I'm taking this acting job seriously, not them! I'm the one filming all those dangerous stunts, not them! They do nothing but take the credit for everything!"Aria studied Fanny. "You get paid for it, and you agreed to work as their body double. You're also paid handsomely for performing dangerous stunts."You should fulfill your obligations after being paid. What you're doing is considered backstabbing your employers."Not all the credit is yours, too. Some of the audience like to watch action scenes, while some others are just here for the pretty faces."Aria was someone who liked pretty fa
"Why would you think that?" Aria didn't let that piece of information slip. Fanny said nonchalantly, "Not just her, but many others in the industry. It was especially obvious in Elara's case. She was meticulous about things like when filming would start and the direction she faced during prayers."I heard she even got a protective charm from overseas. I don't have concrete proof, though."A protective charm, and from overseas?Aria pressed on her Charm Coin, her gaze darkening. "You mentioned in the post that she was sleepwalking frequently.""I saw her five times," Fanny said. "I guess I'm the only one who saw her, though. I slept there secretly during those days, but I no longer dared to do so after seeing her sleepwalking. I was afraid that something would happen to her and that the film crew would blame me."Aria raised a brow. "Didn't her management company notice such a serious issue? What about her assistant?""Maybe they didn't notice. I don't know." Fanny's gaze wander
The person reporting to Lyla lowered his voice as he said, "Ms. Mobbs, she said that she found a protective charm on the floor and wanted to ask if you recognized it." Lyla's expression shifted. She snapped, "Tell her to come in."Aria didn't have any protective charms with her; that was merely an excuse for her to meet Lyla.Lyla was a very overbearing woman, but her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Aria. "Ah, Ken, why didn't you tell me that the visitor is this beautiful?"Lyla stood up. The longer she looked at Aria, the more satisfied she was. Compared to Aria, Elara, whose image she had spent a lot of effort cultivating, fell short. If she could sign a management contract with Aria, she would be able to create a new trend that would take the industry by storm."Hello. You have such a striking face, it's a waste if you don't begin a career in acting," Lyla said. She fished out her business card immediately. "We have an elite team which will assist you on your way to stardom.
Lyla's face had gone ashen in contrast to Aria's calm demeanor. Her voice trembled as she said, "You had him—""Yeah." Aria raised a brow. "So if you don't want to be sent to prison too, you better tell me everything about Elara's protective charm and the unusual behavior she displayed in detail."Lyla said, "I'll tell you everything, Ms. Carver! I'll tell you everything you want to know! Her death really has nothing to do with the company at all! I don't know how she died just like this without any warning." Lyla was telling the truth. "The protective charm never left her side. I disagreed when she bought the charm."Lyla deliberately avoided being in the vicinity of everyone else when she talked about this. "The police interrogated me, and there are some weird occurrences that I can't really tell anyone else about. I'm worried that they might think that I'm responsible for it.""What would they think you're responsible for?" Aria asked sharply.Lyla wanted to keep a low profil
"Her hair? Annoying?" Aria paused.Lyla nodded. "Yes. She threw tantrums frequently and talked about her hair obsessively. She insisted on cutting it herself, and the stylist was at a loss.""What did she say exactly?" Aria raised a brow.Lyla thought for a moment. "She said her hair grew too fast and was bothersome.""Her hair was growing very fast?" Aria's gaze darkened.Lyla said, "A little, but it went back to normal after she joined this film crew.""It went back to normal after she joined this crew?" Aria was still thinking about the correlation between these two things.Lyla said, "Yes. The people in our company were talking about how this was related to Mr. Carver. Elara liked to watch his movies, and the opportunity to play a couple on screen with him made her very happy. She also became much more even-tempered. She dared not bring the charm with her when she was with him because she was scared that it would be discovered."Aria had a clearer idea of what was going on
"You're claiming it's justified to exploit him because he's popular," Aria stated slowly. The biting coldness in her voice made Lyla stammer. "I-I didn't mean that. You know this as well, but entertainment companies constantly strive to make their artistes stand out."Aria's gaze hardened. Elara had approached Elijah with impure motives, and her company had woven those rumors about them. Fanny wanted someone to notice her, but Elijah had ultimately become the subject of heated discussions. Regardless of the truth, Elijah was the most popular, making him the ideal choice for deflecting negative comments online or gaining publicity. This was why Aria couldn't sense any direct malice; everyone involved had ulterior motives, making everything happen more effortlessly. Aria's gaze fell on Lyla's face. She looked completely different from before, her gaze dark. "I'll give you half a day to deal with the rumors. You'll tell everyone the truth—Elijah Carver didn't know Elara persona
"Someone lied? Who?" Lyla asked.Having just tucked the strand of hair away, Aria responded, "Do as I ask, and you will keep your position. And don't involve Mr. Carver. I'll handle the contract discussion with him myself.""You can convince him to sign a contract with the company?" Lyla's eyes lit up, the brightest they had ever been. "He's never signed a contract with any management company before. Everything is taken care of by his personal studio.""Wait for my update," Aria said evenly. "Also, do something about your bad habits. I'm letting you off this time because you've never given anyone up to Mr. West and opted to give him money instead. "What happens next hinges on your performance. Remember, never try to leech off someone else again."Anyone else wouldn't understand what Aria meant, but Lyla did. She was pragmatic as far as everyone else was concerned, and it was true—she didn't really care about her artistes that much. Her strategy was to either capitalize on others'
"Hello, Mr. Channing. Our lady would like to have a word with you," Frank said politely outside the interrogation room.However, Aaron was an arrogant person. He held his case files and refused, "I don't know your lady. There's nothing we can talk about either."No matter how influential the Carver Group was, they wouldn't be given special treatment here. Thus, they shouldn't try to pull strings.Just as Aaron was about to walk past Frank, the latter replied smartly, "But our lady knows you. Why don't you hear her out first?"Aaron still didn't put it to heart. However, he took the phone since Frank had already worded it this way. The moment he pressed it to his ear, regret washed over him."Have I been gone too long, or did you lose your touch?" Aaron recognized that familiar lilting drawl. In fact, it was a nightmare come to life for him.An outsider had broken his record of being number one for many years. Plus, this person never really made an appearance, either. The only dif