Chapter 13 Short of Money Again?

• It was Violet's second day filming the defeat scene on the set again.
• She had been filming the scene whereby the second female lead was severely beaten and disabled the whole day yesterday. And it was not until the director pleaded with Natalie to let Violet go that she could finally rest.
• Today's scene was about the second female lead dying in battle, which was even more tragic than yesterday's scene. Violet was Natalie's stuntwoman on the filming set. As she was charging into the fight, again and again, Natalie was standing not far away and was being interviewed by reporters.
• "Brock and I have known each other and been together for many years. It was love at first sight. He said that he fell in love with me the first time we met. But we did not make the relationship public in the first place because a friend of mine was also obsessed with my boyfriend. We did not want to hurt her wishful thinking."
• Everything Natalie said was like a knife piercing Violet's heart. So, they kept the relationship private because they didn't want to hurt my wishful thinking. Wishful thinking, my *ss. Six years of relationship and hard work turned out to be my wishful thinking. How ironic.
• "Move!" Someone shouted in a terrified voice, but before Violet came back to her senses, a sharp knife held by the male actor had already pierced the armor on her left shoulder.
• Immediately, blood was seen flowing from her shoulder, and sharp pain hit her. The staff on the set hurried over to treat her wound. Fortunately, the armor on her body was very thick, and the sharp knife only pierced a small hole in the armor. Otherwise, she could not imagine how disastrous the consequences would have been.
• "Who changed the props?!" Most of the props in the crew were fake to protect the actors' safety, but the sharp knife that pierced Violet today was genuine.
• "I changed it." Natalie walked over proudly without a hint of guilt on her face after she finished the interview. "I think the props are too fake and would not create a sense of realism. So, I took the initiative to change them to real ones." She then looked down at Violet condescendingly and continued, "What? Do you have any objections?”
• Violet clenched her fists tightly by her side upon hearing that. Ever since she found out Brock was cheating on her with Natalie, Natalie had been seizing every opportunity to cause trouble and target her. And this time, the woman went a step too far.
• Violet endured Natalie's bullying time and time again, but that didn't seem to have made Natalie back off. Today, she was stabbed in the shoulder. Who could guarantee her safety tomorrow? She might not be as lucky anymore; what if she got stabbed in the heart?
• She was at the boiling point when she tore off the costume and threw it on the ground. "I quit!"
• As if Natalie knew how Violet would react, she folded her arms and sneered, "You can quit. But remember, I paid you three times the usual salary. So, you have to pay me back six times as compensation for breaching the contract."
• Violet narrowed her eyes slightly. Now she understood why Natalie was willing to pay three times the usual price; that woman was calculating every step of the way just to wait for this moment.
• She only had two choices. One was to acquiesce to Natalie's action and continue to be her stuntwoman. The other was to quit there and then pay her back six times her salary. Natalie knew that she had taken out almost all of her savings not long ago to hire paid posters to help Brock create momentum!
• Violet clenched her fists even tighter as the thought flashed across her mind.
• Nonetheless, she chose neither. Instead, she took in a deep breath to suppress her anger and walked up to Natalie. She lowered her voice and asked, "Do you think that there is nothing else I can do?"
• Natalie glanced at her triumphantly and nodded. "What else can you do? Know that I have all the means to push you to the edge. It's as easy as killing an ant!"
• "Really?" Violet scoffed before continuing, "I remember that the script is to be kept secret. But… you know what? I made a copy of it when you gave me the script to analyze. What do you think will happen if I take the script of the second female lead to the producer and chief director? What would be the liquidated damages you would have to pay?"
• Natalie's expression changed instantly. "Impossible!" she yelled. She knew Violet never had the habit of making copies of scripts.
• "Why'd you say so?" Violet asked rhetorically and calmly. No trace of lying could be seen on her face.
• Natalie took a step back with a livid face. "Do you think seeing the producer and chief director is easy?"
• Violet smiled lightly, knowing that her threats worked. "Why don't you give it a go? I can pay you six times the salary. So, the question is, do you dare to bet your career on me?"
• Natalie went berserk! She was confident that Violet was her captive bird and could destroy Violet as easily as crushing a gnat. Never in a million years would she have thought that she would be restrained by the b*tch. She gritted her teeth, glaring at Violet in fury.
• She dared not bet because she was different from Violet, who was just a stuntwoman. On the other hand, her career had just started to take off, and there would be a stain on her future stardom if things like leaking scripts were made public. Not to mention if Violet decided to tell the reason why she leaked the script in the first place.
• Natalie's face paled at the thought of it, and she immediately grabbed Violet's hand and stared at her viciously, "Sc*mbag! I gave you the script because I trusted you! You deceitful b*tch!"
• However, Violet was not the slightest bit afraid. She ruthlessly shook off Natalie's hand and said with a fake smile, "Anyone has the right to say that I'm deceitful. You're not one of them." She did not even pause to wait for Natalie's reply as she turned and left.
• Natalie's assistant approached her and asked, "Do we just let her go like this?" Natalie stared at Violet's back and squinted her eyes. "Not for long."
• Violet used the script to threaten her, but the threat wouldn't work for long. All her scenes would have been shot in a few days, and the whole crew would eventually know the script's content for the second female lead!
• …
• Violet received a call as she left Silverfilm. The voice of a drunken middle-aged man echoed from the other end of the phone. "Dad misses you!"
• She paused slightly before replying, "Are you short of money again?"
• "Yes." The person on the other end of the phone laughed twice in embarrassment. "I'm at home now. Send the money to me." He then hung up the phone call after finishing speaking without exchanging pleasantries.
• She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. The man was none other than her biological father, Folsom. He was a terrible alcoholic who lived in a slum. He had many creditors, so he seldom went to Rockerson. Unfortunately, he would ask her for money every time he was back. Well, after they became acquainted again when she was eighteen, she thought she could change him for the better. But she was his child, who got her stubbornness from him, and as expected, she was unable to change someone who refused to budge in the first place.
• "Enough! Enough!" Folsom was counting the money in the damp and dirty room as he looked at his daughter with a smile. "You're my good daughter. But it's another story with Sally. I raised her for eighteen years, but she doesn't even give me a penny now that she has her own business."
• "Try to stop drinking." The room reeked of alcohol, and this made Violet frown slightly. "I'm married, and I may not be able to give you money in time in the future. So, you should learn to take care of yourself."
• She was just about to leave when Folsom stopped her. "Wait! Did you say you got married?"
• She nodded. He turned around to look for something under the couch upon hearing that. He pulled out a diamond necklace and handed it to her. "You know I'm broke, but your biological mother left this. So, I'm giving it to you."
• "Okay."
• "Protect this necklace just like how you protect the birthmark on your lower back. Don't let others see it easily."
• "Okay." She turned and left; this time, Folsom did not stop her. He merely stood in the same place and looked at her back. He smiled wryly. "No doubt she's her daughter. She looks more and more like her."
• …
• "Danny, can you ask your brother what he wants to eat tonight?"
• Violet made a phone call to her son as she walked out of the slums, and the sound of hurried footsteps behind her could be heard when she passed by a small alley.
• "Mommy, I want—"
• Before David could finish speaking on the phone, she felt a blunt force strike her head and immediately lost consciousness.
• "Mommy! Mommy—"
• The phone fell into the alley, and David's voice echoed anxiously from the other end of the phone. "Mommy! Mommy! Are you listening?"