Chapter 991: Chapter 991: Where Should Her Life Go From Here?
Early in the morning, Oswald Lewis ca to ‘receive the award’ but never expected that Bertha Swift would escape overnight. He couldn’t understand how she managed to run away when he had arranged soone to watch over her!
Oswald silently took a deep breath, looked up at Adam Piers flatteringly, and said, “Master Adam, don’t worry, I’ll bring her back to you in a mont.”
Adam gave Oswald a cold sideways glance, “Bring her back to in a mont?”
Oswald didn’t catch the other emotions in Adam’s voice and answered confidently, “Of course, the girl cos from a good family. It’s her first ti, so she might have gotten scared, but don’t worry, she took my money. How could she make Master Adam unhappy?”
Finishing his words, Oswald smiled ingratiatingly, all the while watching Adam’s reaction and inwardly cursing Bertha Swift for being ungrateful.
“First ti?” Adam repeated Oswald’s words.
Oswald wasn’t sure if the woman was a novice last night, but given the situation, he could only bluff, “Of course, it’s her good fortune that Master Adam noticed her on her first night out at the club. Don’t worry, I’ll arrange everything, and she’ll willingly co back to you shortly.”
Adam stared at Oswald’s face for a long while, repeating the phrase ‘willingly’, with a mocking smile on his lips.
Oswald didn’t know what Adam ant, and feeling uncertain, he could only smile awkwardly.
Adam, after enough self-mockery, spoke indifferently, “No need.”
Oswald felt a chill in his heart and heard the man on the hospital bed continue leisurely, “Oswald, right? I’ve rembered.”
After saying that, he closed his eyes, clearly not intending to continue the conversation.
Adam’s attitude left Oswald feeling uneasy. He wanted to ask a few more questions, but Ray Leighton had already stepped forward, “Oswald, please.”
This was a dismissal.
Oswald forced a smile, left Adam’s hospital room, and as soon as Ray was out of sight, he kicked each of his two subordinates angrily, then coldly ordered, “Go, find that whore from last night for !”
The two subordinates, bewildered, looked confused.
Oswald, furious, said, “Are you blind? She ran away last night, and you still dare tell she spent the night with Adam?”
At these words, the two n’s expressions changed slightly, and they quickly went off to find her without further delay.
After Oswald left, Ray looked sowhat puzzled at the boss lying on the hospital bed pretending to sleep, “Master Adam, what was going on with that Oswald guy? Why did he seem to be rough with his subordinates, and it looked like he was looking for soone.”
Adam, propped up on the bed like a corpse, stiffened slightly. He had already said there was no need, but Oswald still couldn’t let it go!
“Oh right, I have a dinner appointnt tonight. Please arrange it for , and also…” Adam paused for a mont, “Arrange for a few junior reporters.”
Since that guy nad Lewis thought he was interested in Bertha Swift, it was a good opportunity to let them know he had plenty of dates and didn’t need an unwilling woman to upset him.
“Isn’t that… inappropriate?” Ray really couldn’t fathom Master Adam’s thoughts. Wasn’t he the most averse to such privacy-exposing publicity stunts in the circle? Why was he getting himself involved now? Could he be planning to use the dia to announce a relationship so that old Master Piers would approve?
But old Master Piers had never interfered in his private life!
“Do you have any objections to my arrangents?” Adam was dissatisfied with Ray’s reaction.
“No, of course not.” The desire to survive made Ray, Adam’s lifestyle assistant, imdiately stop protesting and turn to make arrangents.
After Ray left, Adam leaned against the hospital bed, constantly recalling the weary look of the woman from last night, along with the doctor’s diagnosis, “Malnutrition, malnutrition…”
“Co back here!”
Just as Ray was about to close the door, he turned back puzzled, “Master Adam?”
“Can Imperial Cuisine Pavilion’s delivery be subscribed to monthly?” Adam asked the question and almost slapped himself. What was he doing?
Ray looked at the master on the hospital bed, utterly confused, “Do you want to subscribe to a monthly plan at Imperial Cuisine Pavilion?”
He even used the formal ‘you’.
Adam took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, “No, just go do your work.”
When Ray left and closed the door to the hospital room, he was a bit hesitant about whether to remind old Master Piers or Brandon. Master Adam, after all, had fallen from West Mountain this ti, and though his physical injuries weren’t serious, it seed like he might have hit his head, otherwise why would he be acting so irrationally?
Although he thought so, Ray still didn’t dare to act on it. He went to arrange Adam’s dinner plans with Zoe Thatcher for the evening.
After Ray left the hospital room, Adam took a deep breath, repeating the words ‘malnutrition’ several more tis, before his eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly grabbed his phone and called David Locke.
After sending Mary Scott onto the plane, David was tirelessly preparing for the film. Seeing Adam’s call out of the blue, he knew that this guy must be up to sothing again. Reluctantly, because he had taken Adam’s money, even though he knew it was likely trouble, he begrudgingly answered.
“When are you starting filming? Have you set a date? Didn’t the funds already get allocated, why is it taking so long?” Adam started questioning directly.
David Locke, “…”
“Hmm?” Adam urged when he didn’t hear a response from the other end for a while.
Only then did David speak lazily, “Weren’t you the one who asked the crew to delay the start of filming?”
“Ah, did I say that? Ahem, well then, can it be brought forward now?” Adam said ‘ah’ like he couldn’t recall at all, awkwardly coughed lightly, and without any sense of guilt, pushed again.
David almost rolled his eyes disrespectfully and replied in an unfriendly tone, “Tell , why.”
Adam insisted, “What reason could there be, I invested the money and want to see the project start imdiately, is that not okay?”
“Oh, sorry, no. The preliminary work isn’t adequately prepared yet, you’ll have to wait a bit longer.” David tossed this line out and was about to hang up.
Adam panicked, “I can wait, but can you advance the actors’ salaries…”
David raised an eyebrow, “Advance what salary if the filming hasn’t started?”
“Isn’t that how it’s usually done?” Adam asked defensively.
“Oh, we don’t have that rule here. After all, not just anyone can be in my movie. Besides, after filming starts, if the actor doesn’t fit, wouldn’t that money be wasted?” David said deliberately.
“You really are…”
“Really what?” David asked nonchalantly.
Adam Piers laughed dryly, “So, can the paynt for the male and female leads be advanced?”
“Wasn’t it just a few days ago that people were at their wits’ end trying to find you? How co the script changed so quickly? I say, Master Adam, why not just confess directly? That would be faster.” David Locke was already tired of chatting with Adam, soone who’s clueless about love, and asked directly.
Adam didn’t catch the sarcasm for a mont and asked sowhat intrigued, “Really?”
David, “…”
After pondering for a while, David added sharply, “Indeed, it’s perfect for getting rejected so that you give up.”
Adam, annoyed, retorted, “How would it benefit you if I give up? Believe it or not, the mont I give up is the mont I pull funding from ‘The Doctors’.”
David, “…” A slip of the tongue indeed isn’t good!
“How could I? Isn’t it just advancing the paynt to the female lead? It’s your money, Master Adam. You decide when to give it.” David replied, feeling utterly servile.
Adam was finally satisfied but didn’t forget to remind, “Don’t say it’s my idea.”
David nodded, hung up the phone, and couldn’t help but mutter, this guy is really damn fussy!
But after cursing, David recalled how he was with Mary Scott earlier, awkwardly touched his nose, then opened the chat software on his phone and realized it had been about three hours since Mary landed, yet there hadn’t been a ssage from her.
David frowned, losing interest in continuing pointless conversation with Adam, and hung up to start dialing Mary’s number.
Adam listened to the beep of the disconnect, sat sullen on the hospital bed, and his mood didn’t improve because David agreed to pay Bertha Swift’s advance remuneration.
He felt there was sothing pressing in his chest, making him uneasy.
…
Swallow City, a certain apartnt.
Maria White received a phone call from Harrison right after transferring five hundred bucks to Bertha from last night, feeling a bit displeased hearing Harrison asking for Bertha’s contact information, “Harrison, what do you an by this? Bertha is under my care, won’t it be just right if I take her to gigs in the future?”
Harrison is an entertainnt agent Maria t at a bar; to put it bluntly, he’s actually just a middleman. Maria usually does live streaming and takes on sporadic gigs from Harrison’s end, with a referral commission on the side. Now seeing him asking for Bertha’s contact info, one thing Maria worries about is losing her commission, another is thinking about Oswald last night, always feeling the matter isn’t simple.
Even though Maria hasn’t known Bertha for long, and there’s so selfishness in introducing her to dancing gigs, she’s not to the point of selling Bertha out.
“Your gal offended soone. Since I’ve laid it out, you better tell her to go and apologize to Oswald. There’s still leeway in this matter,” Harrison explained after thinking it over.
Maria felt a pang in her heart, “Who is Oswald exactly, is it severe? You’ve seen Bertha too, she’s not the kind to casually offend people, is there maybe a misunderstanding in between?”
“Your friend may have a personality that attracts trouble, but her looks sure are a magnet. I heard so big shot in the capital city took notice of her, yet she didn’t abide, anyway, Oswald blew up in anger. If you’re close to her, advise her properly, Oswald isn’t soone to ss with.” Harrison’s warning was sincere.
Maria hung up the phone, sweat faintly appearing on her forehead, recalling Bertha’s return late at night. She’s guessing Bertha isn’t being kept but rather ran away by herself. Maria pursed her lips, regretting introducing Bertha to night gigs, wishing she could bite off her tongue.
But after getting angry, Maria knows this matter must be faced. After hesitating for a while, she got up to knock on Bertha’s room door.
Bertha was pulled out in a thin dress from a warm bar last night, went through quite a hassle, and fell asleep only after dawn. Hearing the knocking at the door, she groggily got up and opened it, seeing Maria with a hoarse voice, “What’s up?”
Maria found Bertha’s complexion oddly red, reaching out to touch her hot forehead and pulled back, “Oh my, you’re burning up! I’ll take you to the hospital!”
“Huh? I’m feverish? It’s nothing, maybe just from just waking up.” Bertha sluggishly touched herself and told Maria, her eyes vacant, clearly not fully awake.
But Maria seeing Bertha like this was more convinced she was ill, didn’t have ti to ntion Harrison’s matter, quickly pulling Bertha along to change clothes, “Let’s go to the hospital first.”
“No need for the hospital, I… cough cough…”
Bertha’s words of refusal weren’t finished before she started coughing herself, Maria saw that, disregarding her willingness, dressed her in last night’s clothes and started to head out.
Bertha still wanted to resist; she knew she wasn’t feeling well but was even clearer about hospital expenses, and she really had no money for hospitalization right now, waved her hand to keep Maria at bay, “I’m a dical student, I know my condition, just need so ds.”
“You definitely aren’t in the sort of condition so ds could fix. Don’t be stubborn, consider the cost as a loan from .” Maria felt guilty toward Bertha, also aware of her situation, and after speaking, continued to lead Bertha to put on shoes.
But as soon as they left, they encountered three aggressive n. Though Bertha was feverish and confused, she recognized one as the man who took her to Adam’s place last night. Her body trembled, instinctively wanting to evade, yet they didn’t recognize her, instead eyeing Maria more and walked past them.
Bertha realized they hadn’t recognized her, a feverish body surged with a chilly sensation, her mind clearer, repeatedly hearing Oswald last night, and his dandy companions’ words.
If she doesn’t please Adam satisfactorily, they’ll definitely make her wish she’d rather die… Yet last night she not only failed to please Adam but also sneakily fled in the middle of the night!
Although she’s clueless about what Adam might have said to Oswald’s people in the end, the fact they found this place clearly ans they’re not letting her off,
Her heart sank bit by bit, and upon entering the elevator with Maria, her body started shivering uncontrollably, last night’s brief hope reignited by the police sending her ho seed all dashed again.
Maria quickly noticed Bertha’s abnormality, “Why is your face so pale?”
Instead of speaking, Bertha’s body kept trembling, Maria sensed it, panic seeped into her heart, “Bertha, what on earth is wrong with you?”
“I’ll walk alone later, you don’t follow .” Bertha struggled to calm her heartbeat, appearing serene as she spoke to Maria.
Maria was confused, “Why? How can I just leave you like this!”
“I said don’t worry about it, don’t worry. And if soone cos to ask where I reside, just say you don’t know.” Finishing her words, Bertha detached Maria’s hand and hurriedly walked away, but due to weakness and tension, that big action made her wobble and almost fall.
Maria listening to Bertha, recalled the brash trio earlier, also Harrison’s words made her blood run cold, “Were those three here to find you? Are they Oswald’s n?”
Already at the front, Bertha, upon hearing the na Oswald, turned sharply, fixing a penetrating gaze on Maria.
Maria was intimidated for a mont and quickly explained, “You forgot Oswald ca to ask about you last night, just recently one of my friends ntioned Oswald is looking for you.”
“Sorry.” Bertha apologized for her previous attitude, then softly muttered, “Since you already know, you should understand I confronted soone not to be trifled with. It’s best you stay away, and if possibly, evade yourself too.”
Bertha wasn’t sure if Oswald, unable to find her, would lash out at Maria, quietly cautioning her.
“But your condition right now…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t have problems.” Bertha interrupted Maria, suppressing imnse discomfort and quickly left, but upon exiting the community, realized she had nowhere to go.
Her ho wasn’t an option, couldn’t stay at the little rental space, only had the five hundred transfer from Maria earlier, where should she go?
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