Summer was a little absentminded when she heard Leonardo’s voice. For a few moments, they both did not say a word. At last, it was Summer who broke the silence.
“I’ve gone to visit the production team.”
“Okay.” His tone of voice never changed.
Summer’s return to Hoover City was not a secret, neither was her cooperation with Eliza and her presence at the opening ceremony of The Lost City’s shooting.
The media always had extraordinary news sense, and they could not have missed a controversial figure like Summer.
At the beginning of the year, Grandpa Emerson’s case had swept the city by storm. After that, Summer set Leonardo’s mansion on fire, and supposedly, she died in the fire. All these topics were controversial, after all.
Summer did not know what Leonardo had done behind the scenes. All she knew was that the online discussions about her involvement in Grandpa Emerson’s case were gone. They were wiped clean, and no one had ever mentioned it for the past half a year.
The incident may have passed, but there was still no solution that could solve the problem once and for all. The media might not dare look for the Emerson family, but they could always look for Summer.
Since Leonardo had no intention of coming clean about the matter, Summer asked, “Did you send the media away?”
The media would not have missed the opportunity to interview her, but even after the opening ceremony, no one had approached her. Someone must have done something. In Hoover City, was Leonardo not the only person who could pull that off?
He listened to her but kept quiet, and silence only meant admission.
Summer took a deep breath. “It’s my business. I know what I’m doing. Please mind your own business.”
She had thought it through and knew that Leonardo’s situation was not good. She had no idea what secrets the Emerson family had, but it was apparent that they were targeting Leonardo.
After a long while, Leonardo finally spoke. “Don’t act on impulse, Summer.”
Her heart skipped a beat, and she hung up at once. She was prepared to be surrounded by the media, knowing that they would ask her about Grandpa Emerson’s case.
It was highly likely that someone from the Emerson family had taken Rosie from her. If she said something that she was not supposed to say in front of the media, someone from the Emerson family would surely come after her.
Only by getting to the Emersons would she find out Rosie’s whereabouts. She figured that she could not stay on the receiving end and become a sitting duck. That would only exhaust her and drive her insane.
How smart Leonardo was; he had read her mind. However, she had no choice in this case. She wanted to do something for Rosie.
…
Since The Lost City had started shooting, and Summer had nothing to do, she thought she might as well go to the production team.
Eliza and her sat under a parasol while Eliza asked her questions and sipped on her water. “Isn’t it better to stay at home and enjoy the cool air from the air-conditioner in this scorching weather? By the way, where’s your child? I’ve never heard you talk about your child since you came back.”
Summer smiled faintly and ignored her question. “Are the reporters you’ve found trustworthy? Will they come?”
She had received many calls from the media, requesting an interview with her. She had agreed, but those reporters had either changed their minds or met accidents on their way to the interview. It was apparent that Leonardo was pulling his magic tricks. That was why she asked Eliza for help.
“You can trust me and my men. Just wait and see.” Eliza looked at Summer for a few seconds, then half-jokingly said, “You’re really going all out to promote ‘The Lost City’.”
Under the blistering sun, Summer was sweating like a pig even though she was sitting under the shield of the parasol. She took a piece of tissue paper and wiped her sweat away. “I’m really scared that you’ll lose money on this web series. Plus, I’m just starting my career; I have to take care of my reputation.”
Eliza gave her a sideways look but said nothing. She did not even know whether to believe Summer’s words.
In summary, the content of their conversation was to create momentum for “The Lost City” and have Summer lead the charge as well as accept interviews from the media, giving The Lost City some publicity.
It had now become a default promotion campaign in the industry. Whenever a new web series was released, it was mandatory to create hype online.
Eliza did not agree with Summer’s tactic of using herself as bait to get publicity for the web series. But since Summer herself did not mind, she would not say otherwise. Business was business; the more hype The Lost City could get, the better.
Eliza really thought that Summer accepted the media interview because of The Lost City.
“They’ll be here at any time. Their questions could be sharp and penetrating. If you can’t handle them, call me in secret.”
“I know. Thank you.” Summer nodded. She was sincere. It was because of Eliza buying her script that she had the money to go abroad. Now she was getting more help from her; she was grateful to her.
Eliza rolled her eyes at her. “How pretentious.”
…
Not long after, the reporters arrived and surrounded Summer just as she was about to leave the production team.
“Miss. Jarrett, I’m the reporter from XX. I have a few questions for you…”
“I’m from X…”
“Miss. Jarrett…”
There were so many reporters around Summer that they were blocking her way out.
She appeared surprised at the right moment but was not panicky. Shoving her hair to the back of her ear, she spoke naturally. “I know that all of you have many questions, but I’ve got to go in just a while. So. I hope you can all ask the pertinent questions.”
“Miss. Jarrett, where have you been after the fire in Leonardo’s mansion? People said you absconded. What do you have to say?”
“Miss. Jarrett, now that you’re back in Hoover City so openly, aren’t you worried that the Emerson family will come after you?”
“Are you and Leonardo still husband and wife?”
“Did you push Grandpa Emerson down the stairs?”
The questions came one after another, but Summer remained cool, calm, and collected. “There are too many questions at once. Let me answer the question that you’re all most concerned about: I did not push Grandpa Emerson. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stood here. Don’t forget that we live in a society with the rule of laws; no one can do something bad and go unpunished, don’t you think so?”
No one could do something bad and go unpunished. Leonardo and his mother’s kidnapping, Grandpa Emerson’s fall down the stairs, and Rosie’s abduction—the mastermind behind all of these cases would be exposed and forced to face judgment, eventually. The truth had still not surfaced yet because it was buried too deep somewhere. But someday, it would be uncovered.