Chapter 139 Zero Toleration for Assault on the Set
At this moment. Simon was very angry, so the words he said were naturally unfiltered and not pleasing to hear. Erin couldn’t find the words
to counter what he said.
Seeing her bowing her head and not saying a word, Simon forcefully let go of her hand. Deep within his heart, he looked down on the way Erin chose to keep quiet and not stand up for herself. If he hadn’t arrived in time. Erin might have been sexually assaulted by the masked man. He despised Erin’s attitude of wanting to cover things up and not cause trouble. It made him furious!
One minute later, Simon forcefully kicked open the door to Roman’s dressing room.
Roman and his makeup artist, Donny, were about to leave the dressing room. They looked at Simon, who had intruded suddenly and quite rudely, with disapproving expressions.
“Haven’t you heard of knocking? Why on earth did you barge in like a bull?” Roman looked at this unexpected guest impassively.
Simon didn’t have a good impression of Roman to start with. Not only were their rumors about him and Erin, but he had also heard about his ex–girlfriend, Megan, repeatedly buttering up to Roman. Coupled with how Roman had previously mocked him over the phone on Erin’s behalf when he broke up with Megan, Simon naturally held a grudge against him. He could now use Erin’s incident as a valid reason to confront Roman, so he wasn’t going to miss out on this opportunity.
His eyes narrowed as he glared at Roman. “Answer me this, Roman. If a female actress on the set is kidnapped and almost violated, how should this be handled?”
Outside the door, Erin’s cheeks burned bright red. This kind of incident would make any woman feel deeply embarrassed. Although the attempt was unsuccessful it was still a criminal case nonetheless.
Simon had asked the question quite loudly in the dressing room. As the door was still open, it attracted shocked glances from the crew members who were nearby. Roman’s heart sank, and his gaze instinctively shifted to Erin, who was standing outside the door.
He observed that her complexion was somewhat pale, and she had a conflicted expression. Based on Erin’s state of discomfort, Roman immediately deduced that the victimized actress was likely Erin!
A sudden wave of fear washed over his heart. Roman calmly walked over, took hold of Erin’s hand, and pulled her into the dressing room. On the other hand, Simon looked on coldly, waiting for Roman to speak.
Roman calmly instructed, “Donny, go and inform the director that we have something important to discuss here. Tell him that we’ll temporarily pause the filming.”
Donny’s expression also became serious. He glanced at Erin with some confusion then quickly left. Once he left, Simon intuitively closed.
the door to the dressing room.
Now there were only the three of them in the room.
“Erin, was what Simon said true?” Roman’s tone was serious, and his eyes showed nervousness and unease. Upon being asked, Erin remembered the incident in the artificial cave earlier and felt a sense of fear. Faced with Roman’s question, she suddenly chose to remain.
silent.
“Can you say something, please?” Roman was getting anxious and unsure of what to do for the first time.
Simon glanced at Erin and spoke up, “Just now, Erin was kidnapped by a stranger and almost assaulted in the artificial cave. Fortunately, I happened to pass by and stopped him from going any further! The person was wearing a plastic mask and dressed in an ancient costume. He had some combat skills as well. Hence, he’s likely one of the male actors from the crew. If we don’t catch this scum, then you
might as well stop filming altogether.”
“That’s enough, Simon. Please, no more- Erin was clearly very distressed.
Seeing her response, Roman didn’t doubt what Simon said. His gaze instantly turned deep and terrifying, and he remained silent for a full
two minutes.
After two minutes, he raised his eyes to look at Erin while saying. “Erin, we must investigate this matter thoroughly. We absolutely cannot tolerate such scum! I know that if we report this to the police, you might become the subject of gossip again. But If we don’t catch that
person, no one can guarantee that he won’t strike again!”
Roman’s words made sense, and even Simon’s firm attitude was perfectly appropriate. However, Erin instantly became shackled by the
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fear of being the target of gossip when such a thing happened to her. She was hesitant to come forward because she was afraid.
She’d seen the news about women facing misfortune. There were always some malicious people who enjoyed kicking others when they were down. Some would even shamelessly comment that the victim had it coming by dressing so scantily. Just the thought of such malicious words made her feel unsettled. She didn’t have a heart made of steel; she was just an ordinary woman.
Erin’s constant silence made the two men standing beside her feel stifled. They both wished they could find that scumbag and cripple him!
“What are you hesitating about, Erin? Are you going to let that person go unpunished? I guarantee you that if I don’t send him to prison as a lawyer, I might as well rescind my law practice license!” Simon wanted to encourage and empower Erin, but he didn’t want to do it in a powerless and inconsequential way.
Roman also spoke with great seriousness. “Erin, I stand with Simon on this, and I agree with his approach. The scumbag didn’t succeed this time, but maybe he will continue to target you again. Even if you leave the crew and stop acting, you can’t hide from people forever. Besides, while he slinks in the dark, you’re in the light-”
After they took turns persuading her and pointing out what would likely happen in the future if she let this go, Erin finally made up her mind. With a cold and resolute look in her eyes, she said, “Fine! I’ll report this to the police. To prevent such incidents from happening to another actress, I’ll cooperate with the officers in handling the case.”
“Don’t worry, we will look into this together. Involving the police is the best way. It will get everyone in the crew involved, and with more leads, we may be able to catch the criminal quickly.” Roman said as he started dialing a number, “I’ll call Ken first and ask him to start investigating discreetly.”
Simultaneously. Simon added. “I’ll go find the director now-”
In the blink of an eye, the situation became a grave one. Erin felt that it had blown up to an irreversible scale, but she also understood that there was no other choice at this point. They couldn’t just snuff out the criminal on their own and beat him up: that wouldn’t resolve the issue at the root cause. Sending him to prison was the best solution. Moreover, Simon could step in as a witness.
Erin told Roman about the physical characteristics of the masked man. They chose to let the whole crew know about this incident. This way, the criminal would truly realize the trouble they’d gotten themselves into.
One hour later, all filming on the set was suspended. Although the director and producer felt frustrated and helpless, they had to take the matter seriously because it involved Erin.
This new actress who had just signed a contract with the crew seemed powerless, but the influential Roman, the popular rock star Matthew, and the renowned lawyer Simon stood by her side firmly. This put unprecedented pressure on the director and producer.
On top of the pressure coming from the Frost family’s possible involvement in this matter due to Simon, even Roman and Matthew made it clear that as long as the criminal wasn’t caught, they wouldn’t continue filming. Even the female actresses in the crew unanimously expressed that they felt unsafe in such a working environment and declared that they would all stop acting if the criminal wasn’t apprehended.
And so, this incident was officially escalated and made ripples. The movie hadn’t even gained traction yet, but the incident of a male actor attempting to assault a female actress on set had already become a hot topic on major websites.
When Chandler received this news during a meeting, he immediately announced its adjournment and instructed Kyle to arrange a helicopter for him to fly to Fleuverton. Although he still needed to avoid suspicion under Quentin’s watchful eyes, Alana was already at DragonSky Studios in Fleuverton.
Chandler could openly show up there as Alana’s boyfriend. After all, it was very reasonable for him to be concerned about his girlfriend’s
safety.
When it was almost 3 am, Chandler checked into the best hotel in Fleuverton, where Alana was also staying. Right then, two men were standing in the living room of Chandler’s suite. They were the Individuals Chandler had previously arranged to protect Erin on the set.
One was called Dave, and the other was Hank. Both of whom were part of the crew. At that moment, Kyle was questioning them.
He asked. “Have you found the suspect yet?”
Dave replied seriously, “Based on the clues provided by Miss Lane, we’ve identified three suspects. One is a local resident of Fleuverton and a professional supporting actor. However, he has an alibi for the time of the incident. His wife testified that they were both taking a nap in their rented room.”
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Kyle said, “Go on.”
Dave glanced at Hank, and Hank continued. “The second suspect is Percival’s martial arts stunt double. He doesn’t have an alibi for the time of the incident, but he claims that he was rehearsing lines in an empty area.”
After hearing Dave and Hank’s report. Chandler, who had been sitting silently on the sofa, suddenly asked. “Who is the third suspect?”
Hank said, “It’s Percival.”
