CHAPTER 220: THAT CAT HAS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF

Fiona panicked for a split second but forced a smile to hide her embarrassment.

"I–I didn’t mean to interrupt you, Mr. Clafford."

"But you still did," Daniel replied instantly, his tone cold and clipped.

He rested an arm on the chair’s armrest and kept his posture calm. "Or perhaps," he continued, gaze never leaving her, "you’re confident enough to speak on Miss Anna’s behalf?"

Fiona’s throat tightened when Daniel mocked her.

"Pfft" Anna almost burst into laughter but pressed her lips together, shoulders shaking.

Fiona’s lips twitched while faking a trembling smile. "N-no... of course not."

Daniel’s jaw tightened watching her. He had been holding back his anger ever since he witnessed Fiona digging her nails into Anna’s arm. The image burned in his mind—infuriating, unacceptable.

He had controlled himself for Anna’s sake... but hearing Fiona lie so casually only irked him more.

"Miss Anna," Daniel said suddenly, turning his eyes to his wife, "are you ashamed of the photos circulating around?"

Anna flinched at the abrupt question.

What is he trying to do? her eyes widened, silently demanding answers.

Daniel on the other hand met her gaze, calm but intense.

Just trust me, wifey. I need your confirmation to handle my already pissed-off mind.

His eyes said it all.

Anna inhaled, steadied herself, and answered firmly, "No."

The moment the word left her mouth, Daniel turned to Wilsmith.

"Do you believe it’s necessary," he asked smoothly, "to let a baseless scandal derail your project? Because from what I’ve seen, Miss Anna is the only actress capable of bringing Olive to life with exceptional depth."

Wilsmith blinked, caught off guard, but slowly nodded as Daniel’s logic sank in. He couldn’t disagree. Anna was in the role.

"In that case, it is decided," Daniel stated calmly.

Wilsmith shifted in his seat.

"We won’t be making any changes. The scandal has nothing to do with our work ethic, and the studio sees no reason to entertain public noise."

Fiona’s jaw dropped and felt her world tilt.

Her plan—her petition—everything she’d plotted so carefully... crushed in seconds.

’No I can’t let him do that’

"But, Mr Clafford, how can you ignore public outrage? Do you think the scandal will have an impact on the film’s commercial success?" she asked, balling her fist tight.

She was confident that the petition signed by fans would prompt the production team to reconsider their casting because the film could face backlash. But seeing Daniel openly support Anna made her blood boil.

"What about the other staff who are objecting?" she said, purposefully dragging the rest of the staff along.

"Then there’s one thing we can do," Daniel says.

Fiona had finally seen a glimmer of hope until he said those words.

"We can replace them instead.

"What?" she exclaimed, bawling in shock.

Even Wilsmith and Anna were taken aback by Daniel’s casual decision to change them, as if losing a few actors were no big deal.

Anna looked at Daniel in disbelief, "My husband is flaunting his power again."

Meanwhile, Wilsmith, who had never cared about online outrage, had no plans to change his casting. He was a director who put his heart and soul into each film, even if it meant facing criticism. Moreover, he was confident in his vision and even though Anna was rumored to be in a relationship, he didn’t think it was a hindrance to the story he wanted to tell.

"Miss Fiona, what were you saying about the threat to—"

"NOTHING!" Fiona snapped instantly, cutting him off.

The old director’s lips curved into a sly grin.

Finally, finally, he could get a bit of payback on the actress who had been a headache since day one.

He had tolerated her constant retakes, her tantrums, her attitude. But this moment? He wouldn’t miss it for the world.

"Oh? I thought you wished to meet Mr. Clafford personally and discuss about—"

"It’s nothing, Director Wilsmith," Fiona hissed again, her forced smile trembling with frustration.

Wilsmith lifted his hands dramatically, as if surrendering. "Ah, my mistake."

Daniel, however, was not distracted by their exchange. He had already noticed the nervous glances they kept throwing at each other.

And he pounced at the perfect moment.

"I suppose Miss Fiona is also not among the cast members who wanted Miss Anna replaced," Daniel said casually.

Fiona’s entire face drained of color.

"Because the way you were behaving with her earlier suggested otherwise. I’m sure that wasn’t a part of the script... was it, Miss Anna?"

Anna swallowed, her heartbeat skittering. He was giving her a chance to speak, but his tone made it clear—he already knew the truth.

Wilsmith, confused by Daniel’s implication, turned toward Anna...and then he saw it.

The marks. Her arm bore faint, reddened crescent-shaped nail indentations.

"Miss Anna, what happened to your hand?" His eyes widened.

He was certain there was no scene that required physical aggression. And even if there had been, she had a stunt double for anything dangerous, as Daniel had made certain of it after her accident, refusing to let Anna do anything that could injure her.

If the film required a close-up, Anna would provide it and everything else? Her double handled it.

So how—How had she ended up hurt?

Wilsmith’s gaze slowly shifted... and landed on the only person who suddenly looked like a cornered animal.

Fiona.

"It’s nothing, Director Wilsmith. A cat scratched me on my way here," Anna said lightly, trying to ease the thick tension in the room.

"I’m sure that cat has been taken care of," Daniel added, his tone deceptively calm as he shot a pointed look toward Fiona.

Fiona shrank further into her seat, feeling every gaze in the room press down on her like a weight.

***

Meanwhile, Ethan, who hadn’t been called for the next shot, stepped out of his changing room. His thoughts were far from the impending scene.

He felt uneasy about the strange man he had seen near Anna’s room and kept replaying the scene in his mind.

So after stepping out, the first thing he did was to head to the staff’s room.

The moment he stepped inside, the entire room went silent.

"Mr. Helmsworth?"

"Why is he here?"

"Did something happen?"

Whispers erupted around him as the staff exchanged uneasy glances. Ethan ignored all of it. His eyes scanned the room for one person—that man.

But he wasn’t there and his jaw tightened.

He then turned to the staff. "Where is the man who was assigned to clean the hallway outside Miss Anna’s room?"

The women exchanged confused looks before one finally replied.

"Mr. Fort? He left... said he wasn’t feeling well."

Ethan’s expression darkened for a moment, but he quickly masked it with a polite smile.

"Alright. Thank you."

He stepped out of the room, and the moment the door closed behind him, his face hardened again.

"He wasn’t sick earlier," Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing. "So why leave so urgently?"

The question churned in his mind, heavy with suspicion.

Something wasn’t adding up. But for now, he forced himself to pause and the moment that man showed up again... Ethan intended to get answers.