“Mr. Burns, Mr. Snearl, do you want to watch the scenes between Elisa and the male lead next, or should I call Lorelei in?”
In recent days, the conflict between the two major investors over an actress had become widely known. Everyone speculated that it might be about Lorelei, especially after Lorelei did not deny the matter at the opening banquet.
“Lorelei?” Finn’s gaze shifted in that direction, glancing at the producer.
Without much thought, the producer explained, “Yes, Lorelei, Miss Morris. She’s resting in the dressing room right now. Her scenes are scheduled for the afternoon. But if you want to see her, I can have her brought over.”
The producer maintained a humble demeanor in his approach.
“Lorelei?” Finn became interested and turned to Hamish. “Hamish, this name reminds me of your old flame. Should we bring her out for everyone to see?”
His tone was casual, as if he were selecting a woman in a nightclub.
Hamish’s face darkened. He knew Finn was intentionally trying to disgust him, but it still stirred up some unpleasant memories.
Finn smirked and glanced at Elisa frequently, not forgetting his purpose for being there. “Show me the script for the next scene.”
“Sure, sure.” The producer took the script from the assistant director and handed a copy to each of them.
As the two men only flipped through Elisa’s lines, the producer felt something was off.
“Mr. Snearl, Mr. Burns, Lorelei plays the role of Birdie, the female lead, in the earlier scenes.”
Finn looked up casually, his demeanor lofty. “Why do you keep mentioning her name in front of us?”
The producer was slow to catch on; he still hadn’t realized that the two men were not in the right mood. “You two invested because of the female lead, didn’t you? I heard it was because of… because of…”
The producer struggled to form his words.
“Because of what?” Hamish’s voice was low.
“Because of pursuing an actress within the crew.”
Finn chuckled. “That rumor seems rather accurate. So, you think I spent money to pursue this so-called Lorelei?”
The producer didn’t dare to respond, but his silence at this point was an admission.
Finn’s lips curled in mockery. What nerve. He wondered if this “Aoife” would misunderstand. She was always so naive, believing whatever others said. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been deceived into standing before him, serving as a substitute for a year and a half.
Finn casually flipped through a few pages and pointed to a segment. “Alright, bring that Lorelei out, and we’ll shoot the deflowering scene.”
The play involved Birdie fleeing her home and being followed and robbed by beggars in a dark alley. When they discovered she was a woman, they tried to assault her, but she was saved at the last moment by the male lead.
This should have been a classic damsel-in-distress scene, but coming from Finn, it sounded like something from an adult film.
The producer was increasingly puzzled by the situation.
Only Asher stood by, grimacing silently, cursing inwardly: fools.
Finn lounged in his chair, legs crossed, and had a cup of coffee brought to him, the enticing aroma filling the air.
Finn glanced at Hamish, who was earnestly studying the script. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
As Hamish opened his mouth, a sudden pain gripped his chest, causing an itch in his throat, and he couldn’t help but cough.
Tobias immediately opened his thermos and offered Hamish a drink, then took out a small white bottle and poured a pill into his hand.
Hamish struggled, coughing, and trembling, before he managed to swallow the white pill with some water.
After a while, the violent coughing subsided.
Finn felt a brief sense of unease. He and Hamish were separated by three people, and his field of vision was limited, so he couldn’t make out what was written on the bottle Tobias had taken out. But the bottle seemed familiar to him. In his early days, he had studied medicine not to save people but to torment them. When he injected Elisa with various drugs, some paralyzed her senses, while others stimulated her brain. From her initial shrieks to her final gasps, her appearance was quite enchanting, and even now, the memory made his hands itch.
He shifted his gaze in another direction but couldn’t spot “Aoife.”
He never admitted to being a good person. He enjoyed tormenting people, relished seeing the light in their eyes extinguished, reveled in their despair, and loved to see them wail and beg for life or death on the instruments of torture.
Naturally, Finn had come to know amany drugs through his research. He might not have been an expert, but he had certainly seen quite a few.
Finn looked at the small bottle Tobias had returned to its place, feeling increasingly familiar with it, but he just couldn’t place it.
It was like during an exam, encountering a question that had been covered in class, but the answer had slipped his mind, leaving him with only a vague recollection.
“Feeling unwell?” Finn tried to bait Hamish. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not concerned about your health; I just want to know when you might kick the bucket.”
Hamish clenched his fist against his lips, his trembling lips momentarily unable to form any words.
Tobias interjected, “Mr. Burns just has a cold; Mr. Snearl, if you want to care for someone, perhaps you should start with yourself.”
“A cold? He looks like he’s on death’s door to me,” Finn laughed like a fox.
For a dying man, such words were undoubtedly a curse.
Hamish set down the script he had been holding. The scenes involving Elisa were full of ambiguity, and the upcoming one would involve a considerable amount of friction with a man.
Hamish gritted his teeth, feeling a sourness in his mouth. Despite knowing it was just acting, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.
He had spent so many days constructing the idea that he wouldn’t disturb Elisa’s work, but at this moment, everything had fallen apart.
Thankfully… Hamish closed his eyes and pondered Finn’s attitude toward Elisa.
He didn’t believe Finn had developed feelings for Elisa just because he had created a substitute for her.
A person like Finn only loved himself. Creating a substitute for Elisa was just a means to control him, a constant reminder of the wounds buried within his soul.
Did Finn truly love “Aoife”? Even if he did, he wouldn’t have sent her to the bed of an enemy.
But then, why was he here?
Hamish thought he understood Finn very well, but the reality proved that when it came to emotions, he truly couldn’t comprehend Finn.
It was somewhat like he had been in the past, blind in love and judgment.
If Finn truly cared about “Aoife” and saw this kind of script, he should have spoken up and insisted the director change it.
Just as Hamish was thinking this, he heard Finn casually comment on the script in his hand. “What the hell is all this written here? This script is downright offensive to the eyes.”
Once Finn spoke, the expressions of everyone present turned grim.
The producer looked anxious, Asher frowned, and the assistant director was at a loss.
What did Finn mean by this? Was he here to disrupt everything?
The producer discreetly swallowed and nudged Asher’s elbow, silently urging him to say something. In this setting, Asher held the most authority.
Finn continued, “As an investor, I’m not satisfied with this script. Is it unreasonable to ask for some changes?”
“Mr. Snearl, are you going to review the script as well? Then may I ask what aspects you are unsatisfied with?” Asher said this aloud, but inwardly, he was prepared to confront Finn if he dared to remove Elisa’s scenes. Regardless of his status as an investor, it was just one billion, wasn’t it? It wasn’t worth compromising artistic integrity.
“Delete all of Elisa’s ambiguous scenes. Her character is meant to be a female general, not some lovesick girl causing chaos in the military camp by getting involved with a man. What kind of nonsense is this?” Finn spoke with righteous indignation, and his argument held some merit.
“Emotional scenes are essential, especially in this romantic period drama, not a military…” Asher’s words were cut off as the producer quickly covered his mouth and signaled with his eyes to stop speaking.
During such a time, it was best to placate Finn. Offending him was not as simple as withdrawing the investment. He could easily halt the entire production, and even if it were completed, it might never see the light of day. The risks outweighed the benefits.
The producer nodded and bowed, “I’ll discuss with the screenwriter and make the changes as you’ve suggested. Apart from Elisa, are there any other changes you’d like to make?”
“Just delete all of Elisa’s intimate scenes.”
It wasn’t possible to delete them all, the producer considered, “Mr. Snearl, it’s impossible to delete all of the scenes. Can we use a stand-in or shoot from a different angle?”
“A stand-in is possible, but a different angle won’t work, it’s too close.”
Hamish stood silently nearby. Previously, he had only suspected Finn’s attitude towards the substitute, but now he was certain that Finn had developed feelings for “Aoife,” which was why he demanded the removal of the intimate scenes. But if he found out that Aoife was dead and this was Elisa, how would he react? Would he give up, or would he use Elisa to threaten him, just as he had done in the past? Hamish didn’t dare to take that risk.
There were stand-ins available, but Asher had high demands for the actors. Unless it was a dangerous action, a stand-in was rarely used. He hadn’t expected the investors to want all of Elisa’s intimate scenes replaced with a stand-in. Others might not understand, but he now saw clearly. Who said Finn was interested in Lorelei? It was evident that he was after Elisa. Otherwise, why would he want to change Elisa’s scenes?
“What does Mr. Burns think?” Asher turned to Hamish, who had been watching the scene unfold.
Hamish said, “Let’s just go along with his suggestions.”
Elisa was in a tricky situation, caught between a rock and a hard place.
“Hamish, I don’t really understand what you mean. Have you really taken a liking to this substitute?”
“I wouldn’t say I’ve taken a liking, I just don’t want things to get dirty. You think the same way, don’t you?”
Indeed, that was the case. It was just to ensure that things remained clean when they returned to his hands. He had never kissed “Aoife,” and naturally, he was unwilling for her to be touched by others. But when he heard the word “things” coming from Hamish, it made him uncomfortable.
… Everything that was happening here was of no concern to Elisa. She stood in the corner, Osvaldo by her side, listening in on the situation. After a while, he lowered his head and said to Elisa, “I think I heard them talking about changing the script. Are they going to change our scenes?”
Seeing that Elisa didn’t respond, Osvaldo continued to eavesdrop, and what he heard next confirmed his worst fears.
“I heard clearly, they want to change your scenes, no intimate scenes for you, not even with a stand-in,” Osvaldo frowned, looking distressed.
Elisa spoke up, “If they change my scenes, why are you so concerned?”
Osvaldo sighed, “I’m the one who’s supposed to act in those intimate scenes with you. If they change yours, they’ll have to change mine, and even use a stand-in. The stand-ins now don’t look good, and many are men. I can’t bring myself to do it…”
Suddenly realizing what he had said, Osvaldo quickly stopped talking, fearing that Elisa might misunderstand his intentions.
But Elisa didn’t pay it any mind. Right now, all she wanted was to finish work and leave, whether chatting with Louis or spending time with Mimi, anything was better than being here, dealing with these two scoundrels.
Osvaldo muttered to himself, “Now I see, the wealthy truly do as they please.”
Only now? She had long realized that these two not only did as they pleased but were capable of anything, disregarding the law.
“Aren’t you concerned about your scenes being changed?” Osvaldo asked.
“They’re just some unimportant scenes, so let them change them.”
“I’ve just realized something. Why did these two investors specifically want to change your scenes and single out the intimate ones? Elisa, could it be that they’re interested in you?”