Jessica came out of the bathroom at that moment. She tried to make Tiffany look worse, “I can prove Tiffany didn’t do anything. She’s just curious who that man who helped Thea on site was.”
“After what Thea went through, and you only cared about that man? Tiffany… You don’t give a shit about Thea’s feelings, do you? Why are you pretending that you care?” Luna hated those who used the money to get support the most, especially Tiffany.
Tiffany jumped up from her bed, “Who the heck are you to say that I’m the one who’s pretending? You and your bunch are worse! Y’all swarmed into our dorm to fawn on Thea the minute you heard she was back. Besides, aren’t you curious about that man as well? You’re so fucking fake, Luna!”
“That’s right,” Anna was clearly on Tiffany’s side, “Everyone’s curious about that man. Why are you pretending?” And then, Anna turned to look at Thea, “Who is that man exactly, Thea? Just tell us.”
Luna rolled her eyes, “What is wrong with you guys? Do you even know there’s something called ‘privacy’ that exists in this world? Just leave Thea alone!”
Luna was quite assertive when it came to things like this. That man was Thea’s personal issue, and no one had any right to inquire her about him.
These people were gross.
Angie, a friend of Tiffany, suddenly started to speak, “Well… This is not completely about Thea, is it? That man jumped out of nowhere yesterday, and he reacted so fast. It made me wonder if Thea is one of those girls who are privileged. If she’s gonna win anyway, no matter how she performs on the stage, what’s the point of this competition?”
Luna went furious, “Seriously? If he didn’t come forth to protect Thea, Thea’s boobs would be exposed before the cameras! Is that what you want to see? If Thea winning the competition will bother you, why don’t you quit the show already? She’s gonna win anyway, with or without any support. You just want to see Thea get embarrassed before the cameras. You just want to see her lose.”
Another girl pulled Angie back, “We’re just curious. We didn’t mean to pry. Besides, Thea has the most supporters among us all. She will get the quota anyway. We’ve investigated her background. She doesn’t have any rich supporters or companies.”
“But some of you get supporters and money that Thea would never have, right? Why don’t you sort it out with each other? Why are you targeting Thea? Just because she’s an easy target?” Luna asked heatedly, “This is absolutely disgusting! Thea, let’s get out of here. Come to the canteen with me. The air in this place is nasty.”
Thea stood up confusingly and was pulled away by Luna. She had always known Luna was a straightforward and rightful person. However, she didn’t expect her to be so articulate.
Tiffany clenched her teeth as Luna slammed the door in her face.
She just had to find out who that man was! She pulled out her phone and called her assistant, asking her assistant to investigate the whole thing.
****
The final round of competition was coming soon. The girls had recorded enough content for the crew to cut a couple of episodes before the final live stream. The director thus gave all the competitors one month off.
The girls could stay in the building to practice if they wanted. But they also could use the one month to do whatever they wanted. Tiffany’s company got her a new role in a drama. She thus happily left the building for her audition.
WWC Entertainment also arranged other shows for Anna. Anna left the building as well.
Beth and Luna had private personal dance trainers. They went back home to practice. Thea, Jessica, and the other girls chose to stay. Candace was still worried about Thea’s choreography, so she sent her own dance teacher to assist Thea when she was away.
****
“It turned out that May is Holly Gordon’s assistant. Holly Gordon is a newbie. She’s shooting a low-budget show right now,” Matt reported in Cody’s office.
Cody looked up. “What is her relationship with Thea anyway? Why did she do that?”
Matt handed a folder to Cody, “It’s hard to say. They’re stepsisters… sort of… After Thea’s parents got divorced, Thea’s father married another woman. Holly is that woman’s daughter.”
Cody flicked through the folder, “I see. This Holly Gordon stands in our way by sabotaging Thea. She will do it again. Just cut all her businesses off. I don’t want to see her face on the screen anymore.”
Cody was always right about people. He could tell from Holly’s face that this woman was vicious and cunning. She would never leave Thea alone.
“But Holly’s parents are also trying to hurt Thea’s mom. Thea’s mom used to be running a small restaurant, but Thea’s father took the restaurant away. Since that, Thea has been living a difficult life with her mother and grandmother. Recently, Thea’s father, John Gordon, just took away the house where Thea’s mom and grandma lived in. Holly is also pressuring her stepdad, trying to force Thea to quit the show.”
“Quit the show?” Cody’s eyebrows furrowed, “This is probably Holly’s real purpose. She doesn’t want her stepsister to be better than her, so she thinks of a vicious idea like this. You need to find out why Thea’s mother always yielded to John Gordon. I want you to find every reason, including the history between Thea Todd and Derek Dawson.”
“Of course, Sir.” Matt nodded and left the office.
****
At the site of Holly’s drama, the director suddenly announced to a speaker that the show’s shooting was halted.
Holly shot up from her chair, feeling completely devastated, “Why is this happening, director?”
“Are you serious?”
The director also didn’t know why. All his investors in this show suddenly pulled out for no reason. The director was also feeling desperate right now. He didn’t even have the patience to explain anything, “I don’t know. How the heck should I know? We don’t have any money. We can’t continue the shooting.”
“It’s impossible!” Holly screamed, “My dad is one of the investors. He will never pull out his money. You must have got something wrong!”
The director shook his head, “The panel has been altered. The show is completely out of my control now. You should go back. No matter how loudly you yell at me, the result won’t change.”
Holly stomped her feet and ran back to her trailer. She couldn’t stop screaming as she called her mother, “Mom! What the heck?! Why is my shooting suddenly forcefully halted?! Can you find Dad right now?!”
Fiona slowly stood up from her couch, one hand covering her swollen belly, “What’s wrong, honey? I don’t understand. Just slow down.”