Chapter 34
Chapter 34
When Eliza arrived at the hospital, Roseane was already there waiting for her. When Roseane caught sight of Eliza, she got out of the car, took her by the hand, and strode into the hospital. Behind them, paparazzi swarmed around like flies and quickly caught up with them. Roseane brought Eliza to the Department of Injury Assessment. Only after she sat down did Eliza realize that Roseane had brought her here for an injury assessment because of the slap Madeleine gave her. "Forget about that." She smiled faintly and unbuttoned her shirt, revealing a shoulder wrapped in gauze. Then she said, "It'd be better if you could assess this injury instead." Beside her, Roseane's eyes widened in shock. "Eliza, what happened..." Eliza gently removed the gauze, revealing the wound which Jay had torn. "Someone had replaced a prop with an actual weapon when I acted as a stunt double. I got injured and the wound has yet to heal." "What happened yesterday wasn't me being unprofessional, nor was it an accident. Jay happened to graze against my wound while acting." Roseane was stunned for a moment, and then things became clear to her. No wonder they could get footage of Eliza trying to 'seduce' Jay! "I wouldn't call this grazing against the wound." The doctor let out a sigh while examining Eliza's wound. "It's plain to see that he had forcibly torn open her wound, which isn't even healed yet!" "Good heavens, how did you manage to endure it?" The doctor sighed faintly while he dressed her wound. "You have to take proper care of your wound. You can't have people just tearing it open like that again." Eliza nodded and kept quiet. Roseane looked on at Eliza's bloody wound in shock. After a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, "They did it on purpose, didn't they?" "Yes." Eliza smiled bitterly. "Madeleine was there when I got injured." Without further hesitation, Roseane had the doctor produce an injury assessment report for Eliza's wound and proceeded to post it online. "Eliza is more than just my stunt double. She is also my friend. As a friend, I cannot stand by and watch her being treated unjustly. I must speak out for her!" Soon, Roseane's post began trending online.
There were even professionals who attested to the validity of the report. A staff member on the set also revealed that the stunt woman, Ms. Lawson, had indeed injured her shoulder because of an accident. Someone even took screenshots from the video Madeleine posted to prove that Jay had dug his finger right where Eliza's wound was. That caused an instant uproar on the Internet. So the so-called seduction was just a mess up? Was it a misunderstanding on Madeleine's side? Right then, a newly registered account by the name of "Moon Among the Stars" appeared and commented: It definitely wasn't a mess up, nor was it a misunderstanding! With ample evidence of footage from surveillance cameras set up at all angles on the set and the cameras which were still rolling when the incident happened, along with photos captured candidly by reporters on the set, Moon Among the Stars brought to light what had actually happened on the set the day before. 2 The news immediately went viral on the Internet. The netizens who had jumped on the bandwagon and joined Madeleine in bashing Eliza all went silent.
Other netizens were shocked to find that it was all just a ruse which Madeleine had single handedly devised.
"How could this be possible!" In a fit of anger, Madeleine gave the tablecloth a sharp tug, sending all the vases and teacups on the table clattering to the floor, shattering into a million pieces on the ground in Jay's studio. Staring at the trending post entitled "Roseane Comtois Defends Friend", Madeleine's eyes were filled with resentment!
She was sure that her plan was flawless! Who would have known that Roseane would actually speak up for someone as insignificant as Eliza?
Also, how did Eliza manage to get the footage of surveillance cameras at Parson Media to clear her name? Parson Media's surveillance recordings had always been kept private. How could it be accessible to her?!
Moreover, hadn't she already been fired today?
With no way to vent her anger, Madeleine picked up a vase beside her and smashed it to the ground with all her might.
"Madeleine!"
Upon entering, Jay caught sight of the mess on the ground. He frowned and said, "Breaking things won't solve the problem."
"I've just received a call from the company. We'd better come out with an explanation for this soon. Otherwise, the company will have to throw you under the bus." Throw her under the bus? Full of irritation, Madeleine turned on the computer and had no choice but to refute Roseane and Moon Among the Star's statements. "These are all just speculations. Isn't it a bit too rash to pin everything on me just based on a few snippets?" "Besides, even if my boyfriend had really unknowingly brushed against this actress' wound, it didn't wartant for her to fall right on him and have him hold her, did it?" "I only got angry because she fell on my boyfriend and made him hold her." Because of Madeleine's response, the discussion online got heated up once more. "Madeleine Robinson Destroys Seductress" became the trending topic of the day again, surpassing even that of "Roseane Comtois Defends Friend". Seeing how her post was gaining more attention than ever, Madeleine sneered smugly. "How dare you go against me?" The Golden Bull Award was coming up in less than two weeks and Madeleine was currently the most popular candidate for the Best Newcomer award. Madeleine had chosen to do these things at such an opportune time not just to quash Eliza, but also to build up and boost her own popularity! Madeleine felt confident that the trending topic of her 'destroying the seductress' would give her greater fame, thus winning her the award. She picked up the phone and gave a call to someone she had hired to boost her post. "Do everything you can to boost the popularity of my post. I want it to be the hottest topic on the trending list!" The person on the other end of the line went silent for a moment. "Miss Robinson, our charges to boost a post to the first place of the trending list fluctuates according to the hype of the top five trending topics on the list. As of now, the popularity of the post by Roseane Comtois is tremendously high. To boost your post ahead of hers will set you back by approximately 300,000 dollars." Madeleine snorted. "Just a mere 300,000 dollars? Go ahead with it!" After hanging up the phone, Madeleine transferred the remaining 300,000 dollars left in her account to the person. She was set out to get the best of Eliza and to attain greater achievements! Trending topics that made it to the first rank on the trending list were greatly publicized daily and Madeleine had her eyes set on it as it was the fastest way for her to gain popularity! At the same time, a cell phone in the nursery of the Valentine family's villa rang. "Master Demarion, the other party has transferred us the money as requested. What should we do next?" 2
"Of course we'll have to do as she wishes. Go ahead and make her post go viral." Glancing at Braint typing away on his laptop, Demarion snickered craftily. "We've received the money, so we will have to deliver what we promised." The man on the other end of the line paused. "But Master Demarion, if Mrs. Valentine finds out about this, will she get upset..." "What's wrong with what I'm doing?" Demarion rolled his eyes. "I'm earning Mommy money. Why would she be upset?" "Go ahead and do your best. If anything happens, Daddy's got our backs." 2 After hanging up the phone, Demarion went over to Braint. "Bro, how's it going? Has Daddy taken action yet?" "Not too long now." Braint squinted. "Say, how much asset does Mommy's ex-boyfriend have?" Demarion frowned. "Why do you ask?" "I'd like to drain him of all his money."