After Wyatt Shaw left for work, Yvonne Sutton went to the film set to see Claire Lawrence.
"Yvonne, you’re finally back! I’ve missed you so much," Claire Lawrence said, hugging Yvonne and whining affectionately.
She was filming a historical drama and wearing a wig adorned with pearl hairpins and dangling ornants that nearly poked Yvonne in the face. Yvonne quickly pushed her away, accusing her of trying to maim her the second they saw each other.
Claire huffed, "You were gone for half a year. I bet you didn’t think of once."
"I did, I did," Yvonne said, placating her.
"Hmph! Then why didn’t you call ?"
"I did, but you always hung up on ."
"That’s because I was busy."
"Exactly. So, to avoid bothering you, I made sure to call you less."
"You were probably too busy doting on your husband to spare a thought for ."
Yvonne smiled and rolled her eyes at Claire. Just then, she saw an actress carrying a large bag of lunch boxes. A staff mber was walking ahead of her, giving her directions.
"Put them on that table over there. That’s right, be careful. And then go make another trip and bring back a case of bottled water."
The actress was also in full makeup and costu. Yvonne didn’t recognize her at first, not until the woman walked past and then glanced back at her.
"Candice Yates? Is she on this production?"
"Yeah, she has a small supporting role with just a few lines. It doesn’t seem like she has an agency backing her. I have no idea how she got on this production, but anyway, people on set are always ordering her around to do this and that."
Because she was looking back at them, Candice Yates didn’t notice the step in front of her. She missed her footing and pitched forward. She stumbled for a few steps but managed to catch her balance and didn’t fall. However, the large bag of lunch boxes flew from her grasp, spilling soup, vegetables, and rice all over the ground.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you blind? You can’t even see a single step?"
"S-Sorry, I’m sorry."
The staff mber was right in Candice Yates’s face, yelling at her as she hastily apologized.
The commotion drew the eyes of everyone on set, cast and crew alike. But even with so many people watching, the staff mber kept on yelling.
"Are you useless? How can you not do a single thing right! Look at the ss you’ve made! Clean it up, now! I’ll deal with you later!"
After the staff mber left, Candice Yates got a broom and started to clean. She kept her head bowed the entire ti, as if she was afraid of anyone seeing her face.
"She used to be so arrogant on Jean Bell’s set, but now..." Claire Lawrence sighed. "She was a rookie back then and didn’t understand how cruel this business can be. She’s certainly learned the hard way now. All her sharp edges have been smoothed away."
Candice Yates’s situation was pitiable, but then again, who really had it easy?
So, everyone just went back to their own business. No one went to help her.
A staff mber was calling for Claire Lawrence; it was ti for her scene.
"I’ll get going then. Let’s get together again once you’re past this busy stretch," Yvonne said.
Claire winked at her. "Maybe we’ll see each other again in a few days."
Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you’re hiding sothing."
Claire stuck out her tongue. "I didn’t say anything."
With that, she hurried off to the set.
Yvonne shook her head and smiled. ’Wyatt must have invited her but told her to keep it a secret.’
Just as she was about to leave, she saw the sa male staff mber shoving Candice Yates behind the soundstage.
Yvonne frowned, walked a few steps, and couldn’t help but peek over. She saw that the staff mber was grabbing Candice Yates by the hair and slamming her head against the wall.
Yvonne couldn’t stand to watch any longer. She strode quickly in their direction.
As she walked, she took out her phone, opened the video cara, and started filming the man. He spotted her almost imdiately. A panicked look crossed his face, and he lunged forward to snatch her phone.
"You dare touch my phone, or , and I’ll call the police imdiately!" Yvonne warned.
The man’s expression hardened. But seeing that Yvonne wasn’t part of their crew, he adopted a placating tone. "Uh, I was just teaching her a lesson. You must have misunderstood."
"My eyes work just fine." Yvonne glanced at Candice Yates, who was now slumped against the wall. Her forehead was bruised, her face was scraped, and she was clearly in a bad state.
"I don’t know what kind of culture you have on this set, but bullying an actress—let alone physically assaulting her—is a massive scandal. If I were to leak this..."
"No, no! If you expose this, the production will fire imdiately, and no one in the industry will hire again. I’ll be finished!" the man begged, clasping his hands together.
He knew exactly how serious the consequences were, yet he still bullied her. Clearly, the indifference of others, along with the director and producers turning a blind eye, had emboldened him.
Yvonne didn’t have the ti or energy to clean up this entire production’s ss, so as the man watched, she deleted the video she had just recorded.
When the staff mber saw her delete it, he imdiately breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his previous cocky deanor.
"You know Spectra Pictures, right?" Yvonne asked.
The man paused. "Of course I do."
"Spectra is the investor for this show, right? Well, what a coincidence. I work for Spectra. I can go talk to your director right now."
"I promise I won’t. I won’t bully her again."
"It’s not just about her. You won’t bully anyone on this production again."
Though the man was suspicious of Yvonne’s identity, he hurried away to avoid any more trouble.
Yvonne walked over to Candice Yates and bent down to look at her forehead. The injury wasn’t serious. But Candice’s face was pale, and her body seed weak and limp, as if she had low blood sugar.
She rummaged through her purse, found a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and put it in Candice’s mouth.
After a mont, Candice seed much more lucid.
"Thank you," she said weakly.
Yvonne looked at her, her gaze hardening. "That night you showed up outside my house... what were you planning to do?"
"I... I was just passing by..."
Yvonne took a deep breath. "I don’t care what your reason was for being there that night, but let give you so advice: don’t get any funny ideas."
After speaking, Yvonne stood up straight.
"Mrs. Shaw, can you help ?"
Yvonne frowned. "What do you want my help with?"
"I want to get acting roles, earn money—a lot of money. I want to be famous, so people can’t bully anymore."
’Is she making a wish? Does she think I’m a wishing well?’ Yvonne was speechless.
Not wanting to deal with her, Yvonne turned to leave.
"I’m sure you don’t want showing up in front of Mr. Shaw again, Mrs. Shaw. And really, I don’t want to disturb your lives either. All you have to do is help ."
Yvonne had only stepped in because she pitied her, but it was now clear Candice didn’t deserve any pity.
"Candice Yates, you think too highly of yourself."
"I’m not overestimating myself, and I don’t think I can seduce Mr. Shaw. It’s just... having soone who looks so much like Hannah Abbott constantly popping up in your lives, reminding you of so rather unpleasant mories... that must be pretty grating, don’t you think?"
"Mrs. Shaw, I’m not asking for much. With your status, all you have to do is say the word, and you could help . Please don’t think I’m threatening you. Just... take pity on ."
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