Chapter 245
Carter Morris had just gained a lot of online sympathy. "If we act now, it might backfire, and we’ll lose more than we gain," the male assistant quickly advised. "Let’s wait until the hype dies down, then we’ll make our move."
"Both of you, shut up!" Carter exploded, standing and slapping the female assistant across the face. She was completely stunned.
Carter, though hot-tempered, had never hit her before. She was too shocked to cry out, silently shedding tears on the sofa. If it weren’t for the outrageously high salary, she wouldn’t have stayed as Carter’s assistant. The slap was too humiliating.
The male assistant, caught off guard, was speechless. Carter didn’t seem to care. He pulled out his phone and transferred two thousand dollars to the female assistant.
"A slap's worth two thousand dollars. It’s fair. Go fix your face. Don’t let me see you looking like that. It’s disgusting." With that, Carter walked out of the villa.
"Carter! Carter! Where are you going? Thomas said you’re not allowed to go out today. It could cause trouble if the paparazzi catch you!" The male assistant, no longer concerned with comforting the female assistant, hurried after him.
"Get lost. If you come any closer, I’ll slap you too," Carter snapped, pulling on a hat and storming out.
The male assistant quickly called Thomas to report. Thomas was overwhelmed and frustrated. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop Carter. Over the years, he’d cleaned up after Carter too many times, and now had a bad feeling that Carter was on the verge of making a huge mistake. Carter had grown even more reckless.
Meanwhile, Morris and Cheryl visited Elvira. They wanted to celebrate with her, and of course, Elvira wasn’t about to turn down her two most reliable subordinates. "No problem. But I have to bring my husband along."
Morris and Cheryl had already dined with Zach. They knew that, while he could be a bit cold, he really did love Elvira. During dinner, they didn’t talk much, but they could tell Zach was pretty nice.
Elvira invited Cole to join them and asked Vivian if she’d like to come. Vivian, eager to see Morris, agreed. Elvira arranged for her bodyguards to escort Vivian.
After everything was set, the group headed to a private, high-end restaurant. They arrived one by one, keeping their presence discreet. With Morris and Cheryl’s rising popularity, their names were everywhere. Opening their phones, they were flooded with praise for their past work. People were talking about how good-looking and talented they were as actors. If it weren’t for those shady capitalists, their careers would have already exploded. The constant praise made them both a little shy as they scrolled through their phones.
In the private room, when Morris saw Vivian enter, he couldn’t hide his excitement, though he had to control himself with so many people around. From the moment she walked in, his eyes were fixed on her, making Vivian feel a bit shy.
Vivian asked Elvira to hide her address from Morris because she didn’t want him distracted, hoping he came today because she missed him and wanted him to do well in his career.
Morris sat next to Vivian. As soon as Vivian took her seat, Morris grabbed her hand. No matter how hard Vivian tried to pull away, he wouldn’t let go. Vivian’s face turned bright red.
Elvira and Cheryl smiled at the scene. Morris truly was a man who valued loyalty and emotions.
Zach and Cole showed no expression. But occasionally, Zach would glance at Cole, his eyes betraying a hint of unease.
Chapter 243
Zach had already figured out that Cole was the one who had taken down Nina. If Leonard could figure that out, Zach surely could as well. He hadn’t told Elvira yet, but his wariness toward Cole was growing. Cole had done it to avenge Elvira, and while Nina had it coming, the way Cole had handled things was chilling. The more ruthless his methods, the more it showed how much Cole cared for Elvira. Zach wasn’t sure how to treat Cole anymore.
Cole, however, was completely focused on drinking water, staying silent. It was only when Elvira served him food that he said a few words.
Zach couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable watching his wife feed another man. But he didn’t let it show, still carefully making sure Elvira had enough to eat.
After dinner, everyone parted ways. Morris obviously wanted to spend more time with Vivian, but with the current situation, being seen together could cause trouble for him. Vivian understood this perfectly. Without looking back, she firmly left first.
Morris could only stand there, watching her leave, his expression heavy with sadness.
On the way back, Cheryl gave him a thumbs-up. “Morris, you’re a man of true loyalty. I really admire you, from the bottom of my heart.”
Morris responded firmly. “The only reason I wanted to become stronger in this life was so I could protect Vivian and make sure no one could ever hurt her again.”
“That’s right. I’ve only worked so hard to break free from being controlled by others. If it weren’t for Miss Willis, we’d still be stuck in that miserable life,” Cheryl said with a deep sense of gratitude.
For both of them, just being able to live honestly in this world was a struggle.
“I will always remember Ms. Willis’s help,” Morris said, his voice filled with deep appreciation. From now on, whenever Elvira asked anything of him, he would not hesitate to go to any lengths to help her.
As they made their way back, Elvira started planning a grand gesture to deal with Judy. Judy was truly foolish. She only cared about the star power of the actors she cast, never bothering to check their character. It seemed she hadn’t investigated the background of her cast at all. Judy had become overconfident, thinking she could outsmart Elvira with such dirty tricks, but never once did it cross her mind that the celebrities she had hired might have shady pasts.
Zach watched as Elvira continued to work on her phone after dinner, a bit frustrated. He pulled her into his arms and, with a trace of irritation, asked, “Don’t you think it’s time you put the phone down and paid some attention to me?”
Elvira didn’t even look away from her screen. She turned her head just enough to give him a quick kiss and said, “Darling, be good. Right now, I’m planning my final strike against the Willis family. I’ll be really busy for the next few days, but I promise I’ll make it up to you once I’m done.”
Zach couldn’t bear to interrupt her. He suppressed the feeling of being neglected and just held her for a moment. Once Elvira had finished with her business, he planned to take her on a trip, a chance for them to unwind and clear their minds.
The next morning, Elvira had a team of influencers and top social media figures leak Carter’s dirty secrets, along with the scandals surrounding two of the supporting actors in Judy’s show. The revelations were explosive, and the public was left dumbfounded. The sheer scandal was enough to overshadow Morris and Cheryl’s trending topics, causing their headlines to sink beneath the weight of the gossip.
The most shocking part was that no one would have thought Carter, who played in a popular gay drama with such impressive acting, was actually portraying his true self. It was almost unbelievable that Carter was openly gay. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The leaks also revealed his history of bullying classmates in middle school and even allegations of drug abuse. Each revelation was enough to ruin him completely and ensure he would never recover from the public backlash.