The text already flaunted who the sender was, so she tossed it back to her purse with a scoffing expression, her threat was too insignificant to make her fret. It seems Irene was rejoicing over her present situation, but Ivy was unaware there was more than that.
As the trio left the premises, a red car that was closely parked to their car followed behind them. A few minutes later, another car squeaked following their trails.
The unresolved fuss about Ivy’s animosity towards Isabelle was a hot topic that refused to be replaced by new scandals that surfaced in the entertainment industry. An international star actress was found cheating with her manager at a luxurious hotel by paparazzi. As this scandal was exposed, it caught the attention of the media for a split second. Immediately after that story, they weren’t given a break to dwell on it as another piece of information concerning Ivy surfaced from an anonymous source. It claimed Ivy as the real culprit behind Isabelle’s attack, providing evidence to support the claim. The said evidence was just an opinion towards Ivy’s reasons for wanting to hurt Isabelle with a few photos of Ivy captured in a pink long-sleeve gown. The photos highlighted Ivy’s presence at the vicinity of Isabelle’s attack, strolling alone on the road. Though it wasn’t enough to prove Ivy as the culprit, the netizens went with the flow. They didn’t need a valid or solid evidence to slander her, as the small presentation was enough to believe the claim. Since her photo was captured close to the scene, they assumed she had ulterior motives.
At 2 pm, Susan and Ivy arrived at the set lunch with producer Stephen. He spared no smile at the duo; his jaw was slightly clenched as he stared at them fiercely. Ivy greeted with a smile while Susan followed suit. As they sat down, he immediately started the conversation.
“You seem unconcerned by the rumors that are currently delaying the film’s progress.”
Ivy could sense the subtle anger in his voice; though his face wasn’t showing it, she could grasp his emotion by his body language. She caught the swift motion of his feet under the facade.
Beneath the table, his left foot was tapping on the floor while his other foot stayed still. Not that he was nervous, but he was doing what he could to contain his emotions.
“You sound as if you believe the rumors,” Ivy responded before asking. “Do you?”
Stephen frowned; she was clearly not bothered, and it looked like she wasn’t ready to explain herself. “I might.”
Ivy didn’t drop her smile. There was nothing she could do at the moment to change his mind until there was evidence to prove she wasn’t the culprit.
Susan, on the other hand, had a feeling Stephen was convinced by Isabelle’s pretense and facade she pulled to get everyone to believe her. “Let’s go straight to the point and stop beating around the bush. I’m innocent, and so is my artist. Isabelle probably paid some thugs…”
“Is that your explanation?” Stephen cut her off.
“Yes,” Susan replied. “And if you want us to apologize to her, that’s not happening.”
Ivy couldn’t understand why Susan would waste her breath saying the obvious; does it look like she was willing to apologize?
Stephen’s face scrunched, displeased. Then he lightened up; he admitted the situation was sensitive. From his point of view, he believed no normal person would fake their attack, but the woman in front of him was so hard to read. He wanted to use the conversation to observe her, but the only thing he observed was that she wasn’t bothered by media and public scoldings.
“Isabelle doesn’t want to get the police involved, and she has her own reasons, but if I find out…”
“That I was indeed the culprit that used my manager as a tool to harm my fellow actress, then you will replace me. I understand.”
Ivy just took the words out of his mouth. Stephen turned speechless; she seemed really confident she wasn’t behind Isabelle’s attack, or maybe she was confident she kept everything under her wraps. Whatever it was, he was going to find out.
He stood up to leave. “If you are really innocent as you are, then why aren’t you clarifying yourself in front of the media.”
“Saying the truth in front of them wouldn’t solve the situation; it will only exacerbate it unless there is evidence to prove who really attacked her,” Susan responded.
“When she gets better, we’ll check the surveillance footage,” Stephen declared before leaving.
“Isabelle really succeeded in manipulating the media and the production crew. If things continue like this, you might get replaced,” Susan said, concerned. “Did you offend her in any way?”
Ivy flashed back to the backstage of the press conference. It seems Isabelle already had hatred for her before then. Then she reflected back to the time before her hiatus. Isabelle hadn’t debuted by that time. So what could be the possible reasons she was framing her. “Maybe she wants the lead role, and I stole it.”
“It’s not your fault she wasn’t good enough,” Susan scoffed. “By the way, did you…”
Ivy nodded, “I did. But I don’t think it will be enough.”
Susan nodded in agreement. “Let’s just wait till they see the footage.”
At the table at the other end of the restaurant, Ethan was taking a sip of his drink looking in their direction. He had been following them for a while now, escalating the situation behind the scenes. Initially, when he saw Ivy leave the studio for the hospital, he thought she was going to face the media. He waited for the news to spread about Ivy’s appearance at the hospital, but it never came. Which made him wonder, why did she visit the hospital when her intentions were never to explain herself to the media? And why didn’t he catch a glimpse of her when he arrived at the hospital…
Ivy wasn’t reacting the way he predicted, which made him decide to watch her every move to determine how to counter any means she would use to prove her innocence.
While he was watching them from his seat, a man with blonde hair seated at his right-hand side was also watching him closely.
Immediately Ivy and Susan stood up to leave, Ethan checked his wristwatch waiting for them to leave a small distance before he followed them. The blonde also stood up from his seat and followed after Ethan. Unknowingly to Ethan as he was stalking Ivy, he also was being stalked by someone else.