Chapter 13 He Needs Money Again

At the filming site, Eliza was acting out the scene where she was defeated by the main lead. Yesterday, she wasted the entire day acting out the scene where the actress was beaten to a pulp. It wasn't until the director reprimanded Madeleine that they stopped her from abusing Eliza. Today, the actress was supposed to die in battle, which meant that the acting would be even more tragic than yesterday. Working as Madeleine's stuntwoman, Eliza tried her best in acting out the choreography of the battle. While she was charging forward with all her strength, Madeleine was standing not far away. She was being interviewed by reporters. "Jay and I have known each other for many years. We've also been in a relationship for a while now." "Yes, we fell in love at first sight." "He said that when we first met, that he fell head over heels in love with me..." "The reason why I've never made my relationship public is that one of my friends is also very obsessed with him. I don't want her to get hurt..." Madeleine's words stabbed into Eliza's heart. "How dare she says that my love for Jay is one-sided?" "Humph, utter bullshit," Eliza thought. Six years, she wasted six years on Jay because she thought he was worth her time and effort. Now, Madeleine had the audacity to say that Jay was Eliza's unrequited love. How preposterous! "Get out of my way!" A frightened voice hurled Eliza back to her senses. Before she could react, the knife in the actor's hand had already pierced through the armor on her left shoulder. Blood spilled out from Eliza's shoulder. A sharp pain shot through her body and the staff came over hurriedly to treat her wound. Fortunately, her armor was thick, and the sharp blade had only made a small cut. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. "Who changed the props!" For the safety of the crew, most of the props were fake, but that knife was real. "I'm the one who changed it." After the interview, Madeleine walked over proudly and said, "I think the props don't look natural enough, so I changed them into real ones." She looked down at Eliza and asked, "Got a problem with that?" Eliza clenched her fists tightly. She went too far! Ever since she found out about the affair, Madeleine had been making things difficult for Eliza. She endured it time and time again, but Madeleine was now stepping on her boundaries! Eliza felt relieved that the blade was aimed at her shoulder. However, she knew that she wouldn't be that lucky the next time. Eliza yanked off her costume and threw it away. "I won't be your stunt-woman anymore!" Madeleine crossed her arms proudly around her chest and said, "I specifically appointed you to be my stunt-woman, and I even paid you three times higher than the usual rate." "Since you've signed the contract, you'll have to pay me six times the price if you break the terms." Eliza squinted. "That's why Madeleine was willing to pay me three times the price! She's scheming for this moment, isn't she?" Eliza thought. Right now, Eliza had two choices. First, she could swallow her anger and continue working as a stunt-woman for Madeleine. Second, she could leave right now, but she had to pay up six times the price to Madeleine. However, Eliza had already used all her money to build Jay's reputation just a while back! She clenched her fists. Even though Madeleine had offered her two choices, Eliza didn't want to take any of them. Suppressing her anger, Eliza walked over to Madeleine and said in a low voice, "Do you really think that you've forced me to a dead end?" Madeleine looked at her smugly and nodded. "Eliza, you should know that you're an easy prey to me! I could squish you like a bug anytime I want." "Is that so?" Eliza sneered. "If I remember correctly, the script of this play is supposed to be kept secret." "When you asked me to study the script back then, I made another copy of it." "Tell me, what will happen if I snitch on you and bring the issue to your producers and director? Do you know how much you'll have to pay for breaching your contract? I bet it's going to be a hundred times higher than my salary right now." Madeleine's face dropped instantly. "That's impossible!" To her knowledge, Eliza had never done such a thing before. "Why is it not possible?" Eliza looked at Madeleine calmly. It didn't seem like she was lying. Madeleine backed off and said with a livid expression, "Do you really think the producers and director would even listen to your crap? You're nothing!" Eliza smiled faintly. "Well, there's no harm trying, right?" "I can pay you the fee for breaching my contract. What about you? Do you want to take up my challenge?" Madeleine was going crazy. At first, she thought that Eliza had fallen into her trap. She could crush Eliza whenever she wanted! When did the tables turn? Why were the odds in Eliza's favor now? Glaring at Eliza, Madeleine gritted her teeth. She didn't have the guts to challenge Eliza! Eliza was just a lowly stunt-woman. But Madeleine had a reputation to protect. Since she had just started her career, she couldn't risk the news from spreading out to the public. If that happened, her career as a celebrity would be ruined! More importantly, if Eliza told the media about the actual reason behind Madeleine's crime... Madeleine's complexion turned pale at the thought of the unimaginable consequences. She grabbed Eliza's arm and glared at her. "You b*tch!" "I gave you the script because I trusted you!" "You ungrateful sl*t!" Eliza shook off Madeleine's hand forcefully and smiled. "You don't have the right to say that to me." After that, Eliza turned and walked away. Madeleine's assistant rushed over and helped her up. "Ms. Robinson, are you going to let her go like this?" Looking at Eliza's back, Madeleine narrowed her eyes. "We can let her be for now." She knew that Eliza couldn't use that issue to blackmail her for long. After a few days, she would finish filming all her scenes. When everyone in her crew was aware of the content of her entire script, Eliza wouldn't have anything to use against her anymore! ...... After she left Parson Media, Eliza received a phone call. The middle-aged man on the other end of the phone said in a drunken voice, "My dear daughter, I miss you!" Eliza paused slightly. "Do you need money again?" "That's right." He chuckled and said, "I'm at home. You can come to me now." He hung up the phone abruptly. Eliza closed her eyes and heaved a long sigh. That person was none other than her biological father, Luca Chapman. Luca was a good-for-nothing who lived in the slums. Since he owed people a lot of debts, he rarely returned to Krine. That was why every time he came back, he would ask Eliza for money. After they met at the age of eighteen, Eliza wanted him to turn over a new leaf, but to no avail. He was just as stubborn as her. In the end, she could only let Luca do whatever he wanted. In the damp and dirty room, Luca was counting the money while looking at Eliza with a smile.  "You are such a good daughter!" "Esme, that d*mn girl. Even though I have raised her for 18 years, she won't even give me a penny, even though her business is thriving now!" "You should stop your habit of drinking." Eliza frowned when she entered the room, which was filled with the smell of alcohol. "I'm a married woman now. From now on, I won't be able to give you money whenever you want it. You should learn to take care of yourself." After that, she turned and left. "Wait a minute!" Luca stopped her. "You're married?" Eliza nodded. "I don't really have anything to give you." Luca turned around. He pulled out an old jade pendant from under the sofa and handed it to her. "Your mother left this for you. Keep it well." "Alright." "You should keep the jade pendant out of sight. The same applies to that birthmark on your back. You have to protect yourself, okay?" "Okay." After that, Eliza turned around and left. Looking at her back, Luca stood rooted to the ground. Then, he said with a wry smile, "She's starting to resemble her mother." ...... "Braint, can you ask Demarion, what does he want to eat tonight?" While walking out of the slum, Eliza called Braint. When she passed the alley, she could hear rushing footsteps behind her. "Mommy, I want to eat..." Before Demarion could finish speaking, Eliza felt pain in her head. Before she knew it, she lost consciousness. "Mommy, mommy—!" Her phone fell to the ground with Demarion's anxious voice echoing through the receiver, "Mommy, are you listening?"