Elisa took the locator that Iris handed over and installed it on Mimi’s collar.
“Mimi is very obedient, she won’t run around.”
“I know, but just in case. There are too many people who dislike me. I’m afraid they won’t be able to get to me, so they’ll hurt Mimi. Having a locator makes it at least a bit safer.” Elisa focused on confirming the locator and didn’t notice Iris’s eyes flicker slightly.
Iris pursed her lips, wanting to say something several times but held back each time.
“Alright.” Elisa handed the phone back to Iris. Seeing that Iris’s expression hadn’t improved, she reached up and ruffled her hair, “If there’s something on your mind, don’t keep it bottled up.”
“I…” Iris started, paused for a moment, then looked down at Mimi in her arms, “I’m fine, really.”
“Good.” Elisa could sense something off about Iris, but didn’t know what it was. Perhaps it was because there had been some trouble at her home these past few days. Since Iris didn’t bring it up, Elisa didn’t feel it was appropriate to pry further, as it was personal.
Elisa received a call from Asher, asking her to come back to change clothes and do her makeup. Today she had scenes to shoot all day, so it would be difficult to finish early.
Lorelei was also on set. Her face still hadn’t fully recovered from the injuries sustained during the last shoot. She had to use a lot of makeup to cover it up, making her face seem increasingly rigid.
Lorelei was going through the script with the other actors, holding a colored ballpoint pen, looking very focused on studying the script.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Iris enter with Elisa and her gaze darkened.
…
At noon, Iris went out to eat, as usual asking Elisa if she needed anything brought back.
“No need, you go ahead. I’ll just have a boxed lunch.”
Many supplies had been sent over these days, so they didn’t have to worry about food and drink, saving the crew a lot of money.
Apart from filming, the people on set usually only had one hobby – gossip. Everyone knew that the person you couldn’t afford to offend in the crew right now was Elisa, after all, she had a close relationship with the two major investors.
Even Osvaldo, who often acted alongside Elisa, couldn’t help but try to get some information from her, but he was quickly warned by the director to behave.
Lorelei put down the script and stood up, arrogantly telling Iris, “Iris, go get me a cup of Americano.”
Elisa frowned, “If you want coffee, go buy it yourself. Don’t you have hands?”
“She’s the assistant. I’m asking her to get me a cup of coffee, what’s wrong with that?”
“She’s the assistant, but she’s my assistant. It’s not someone else’s place to ask her to do things, understand?”
“It’s just about money, right? I’ll give it to her.” Lorelei opened her bag and casually threw a few bills on the ground as if giving alms.
Watching her actions, Elisa crossed her arms and couldn’t be bothered to deal with someone with such a lack of intelligence. She turned to Iris, who was still lowering her head, and said, “Go about your business. In the future, if you encounter someone shameless, just take a detour.”
“Elisa, who do you think is shameless?”
“Lorelei, if I remember correctly, the image the company has set for you is that of a pure and kind person who is inexperienced in the ways of the world. Don’t be so naive as to believe it yourself. Who else could I be talking about besides you? Right?”
Lorelei was about to get angry when Elisa raised her hand to stop her.
“Don’t get angry. If you lose your temper, not only will your image be ruined, your face will be too, and then you’ll have to go to a plastic surgeon to fix it.”
This remark successfully made Lorelei lose her composure. She touched her face with one hand and pointed at Elisa with the other. “Elisa, what are you being so arrogant about here?”
“What am I being arrogant about? I’ve never been arrogant to anyone.”
Before Lorelei could react, Elisa slowly said, “Lorelei, you remind me of someone, Hamish’s fiancée three years ago, Lila, who appeared on the big screen and performed a limited edition film for everyone. I don’t know why, but I feel like you look a lot like her, even your names sound similar.”
Lorelei’s face stiffened, and she bit her lip, feeling aggrieved. She glanced at Iris, who met her gaze. She flinched, her face slightly uncomfortable and her gaze scattered. “Elisa, I’m fine, really. It’s just helping to bring a cup of coffee back. I used to do these things often.”
Iris had always been gentle, and it was because of this nature that she had let others bully her in the past.
“Now you are my assistant, and you don’t need to do things for others,” Elisa said.
“It’s okay, I really am fine,” she said, lowering her head to pick up the money Lorelei had thrown on the ground.
“Elisa, I’m going to go now,” Iris said hurriedly, and then she ran off with Mimi and the money, disappearing into the distance without looking back.
Elisa felt that something was very wrong. Since early in the morning, she had felt that something was off with Iris.
“Hmph,” Lorelei sneered, interrupting Elisa’s thoughts. She sarcastically remarked, “Some people are just naturally despicable.”
Elisa glanced coldly at her and was called over by a crew member to pick up her boxed lunch.
Her scenes were all in the afternoon, so she didn’t have time to think about so much.
…
Iris clenched the money in her hand, her eyes reddening. Suddenly, her phone in her bag vibrated, and her heart tightened. Trembling, she took out her phone and looked at the text message. Her eyes, just red moments before, now filled with tears.
Iris put down Mimi, whom she had been carrying, and hugged her.
Holding the carrier, she lowered her head to look at Mimi inside, and sniffled, “I’m sorry, Mimi. I have to save my mom… I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Iris choked up, tears continuously falling onto the carrier from her reddened eyes.
She needed a large sum of money to save her mom. She could only do this despicable thing.
Lorelei had said that as long as she handed Mimi over to someone, not only would they spare her mother, but they would also give her a large sum of money to treat her mother’s illness.
She had been raised by her mother alone, and her biggest wish in life was to let her mother enjoy herself, to take her on trips and to photograph her in her favorite pink sea. But now, her mother hadn’t had a single good day in her life, suffering from uremia and needing a kidney transplant, with high medical expenses every day. With her meager monthly salary, she simply couldn’t save her mother.
She wanted to tell Elisa, but she knew that Elisa didn’t have that much money to lend to her, and besides… her mother was still in Lorelei’s hands. She was afraid that any rash move would put her mother in danger.
Iris wiped her tears, her decision made.
It’s just a cat… just a cat, she repeated to herself over and over, as if doing so could dispel her own guilt.
If something happened to Mimi, she would buy another cat for Elisa. Moreover, Mimi might not necessarily be in danger. She still had a locator on her collar. If Elisa noticed something was wrong, she might be able to quickly find Mimi following the locator.
Iris comforted herself, looking at a new message with a location, she clicked on it and followed the navigation.
Arriving at the riverbank, Iris replied to the text, “Where are you?”
The other person quickly replied.
“I’ve already seen you. Stand there and don’t move.”
Anxiously, Iris waited. There weren’t many people around, and she didn’t know who any of them were, until a woman wearing a mask approached her.
“Just this cat?” The woman, wearing a mask and sunglasses, spoke with a disdainful and malicious tone.
Iris found her voice somewhat familiar, but she was too preoccupied to think about it. “Yes, this is the cat she always carries with her.”
“So ugly?”
Iris didn’t respond to her and asked, “If I hand the cat over to you, will you let my mother go?”
The woman, impatient, responded, “Hasn’t Lorelei already explained it to you? Why are you asking again? Hurry up, give me this ugly cat.”
Iris, with a troubled expression, asked, “You won’t do anything to it, will you?”
Mockingly, the woman said, “You’ve already brought it here. Should you be worried about what will happen to it? Don’t worry about what’s not your concern. It’s more important to take the money and cure your mother’s illness.”
Thinking about her mother, Iris trembled as she took the cat out of the bag and handed it over.
Mimi seemed to sense danger and started struggling inside the cat carrier, making muffled sounds, desperately looking at Iris.
However, Iris averted her gaze. The woman took out a card from the bag, saying, “Take it, but remember not to talk about today’s events.”
Iris took the card, nodding reluctantly.
The woman coldly smirked, took the cat carrier, turned around, and looked down at the struggling cat inside, her expression grim and unpleasant.
Elisa, I see how pleased you are now. You’ve ruined my life, so I will destroy what you love most.
Carrying the cat carrier, the woman drove to the junkyard. She removed her face mask, revealing herself to be Filippa, who had been banned not long ago. Her expression at that moment was terrifyingly sinister.
Filippa took out the things she had prepared earlier: a utility knife, pliers, rope, gloves, a can of gasoline, and more.
She put on her gloves and slowly opened the cat carrier. Mimi saw an opportunity to escape and tried to rush out, but Filippa grabbed it by the neck.
No matter how strong a cat is, it cannot match the strength of a human. It was painful for Mimi as it struggled, trying to bite her, but the person holding it wore gloves, making it impossible for its teeth to penetrate.
Furthermore, its front paws had been useless since three years ago, with no claws to protect itself.
Elisa….
Elisa….
“Mew-” Fear appeared in Mimi’s blue eyes. Filippa stared at its eyes, a strange and twisted smile on her lips.
“Blame Elisa, she’s the one who raised you. The more she cares about you, the more I’ll torment you. It’s not illegal to abuse a cat anyway,” Filippa said, picking up the rope from the ground, tying Mimi’s front and back paws, and hanging it by the neck.
“Perhaps it will be a bit painful in a moment. You have to endure it,” Filippa held Mimi’s mouth, picked up the pliers, and slowly approached its two sharp teeth.