Elisa glanced at the laptop several times before gritting her teeth and getting out of the car, walking towards the abandoned factory.
The sky wasn't very dark at this time, and there was still some orange light shining in from outside. As she walked, her fear increased; it felt as if she had stepped onto the set of a horror movie. If a brutal killer with a chainsaw suddenly appeared from the shadows, she wouldn't find it strange at all.
"Roy, are you there?" She timidly called out. If she didn't make any noise, she feared the oppressive silence in the atmosphere would suffocate her.
A dark figure flashed.
While Elisa screamed, she recognized that it was Roy appearing not far away.
"Roy! Oh God, it's so good to see you!" Tears uncontrollably streamed down her face; she was genuinely terrified a moment ago!
"Stay there, don't come near me," Roy coldly commanded.
Elisa hesitated, awkwardly stopping in her tracks. Fortunately, compared to a moment ago, seeing him now reduced her fear significantly. Ironically, the biggest danger should have come from him, but in the silence and darkness, the familiar figure of Roy strangely brought her a sense of security.
"Okay, I won't come over," she swallowed hard, glancing around. Perhaps due to the darkness and the eerie surroundings, she felt as if something was watching her. It was as if pairs of eyes were hiding in the shadows, ready to tear her skin, drag her into the darkness, and devour her.
Blame it on the Agent; if he hadn't insisted on letting the other side choose the meeting place at that time. If it were up to her, she would have chosen a safer location, like a café.
But she forgot; how could Roy possibly go to crowded places at a time like this? She also didn't know that, as she entered, her Agent had already called a few paparazzi who were conveniently arranged.
Originally, when Roy personally chose the meeting place, the option of journalists and paparazzi was already crossed out. The Agent thought that if it were him, he would choose a more secluded place, somewhere outsiders couldn't easily enter. However, upon hearing Roy's voice coming from the laptop, he realized that he had indeed chosen a place where anyone could come.
For him, this was extremely advantageous. Those paparazzi, no matter how difficult the place was, had been to such locations before. In a place that seemed dangerous, they felt safer.
Quietly entering, taking a few photos discreetly... no, even if it wasn't discreet, what did it matter if they were discovered? The photos were in their hands, and if the last time could be explained as a misunderstanding, what about this date in an abandoned factory with no one around? If Roy's reputation plummeted, he would have to cooperate with them obediently.
After calling a few well-connected paparazzi and getting their assurance that they would come as soon as possible, the Agent smugly patted his thigh. What if he was a big star? What if he was noticed by a famous director? In the end, he would still become his stepping stone.
Meanwhile, Elisa was working hard for her future.
"Roy, thank you for agreeing to meet me. You may not know how important this is to me! Thank you, really thank you for bringing the ladder to becoming a big star right in front of me!"
Roy stood against the light, so his expression couldn't be seen clearly, but judging from his tone earlier, his mood shouldn't be so bad that he would resort to killing. This slightly eased the tension in Elisa's heart.
"Elisa, what do you want to say to me?"
His voice was cold, possibly amplified by the emptiness of the place, making it sound more aggressive than usual.
Elisa took a deep breath quietly. "I want to say that someone is plotting against you in the shadows!"
"Who? Who wants to harm me?"
Roy's voice was somewhat impatient, but he quickly realized this and returned to a calm tone in the second half of the sentence.
Elisa didn't miss the urgency in the first half, knowing that he was indeed worried, so the next part of the plan should be fine!
"I really don't mean any harm to you. Do we have to stay so far apart?" She shrank, glancing around. At this point, the sky was dark, and in the abandoned factory, only the streetlights outside cast some light, creating a chaotic and ghostly atmosphere inside.
"I'm afraid if we get too close, and you create any commotion, I won't be able to handle it," Roy sneered.
Elisa saw his determination and could only awkwardly smile, bringing up the incident where she accidentally got injured. "I didn't want things to turn out like this. That day, I got injured by accident. When the driver took us to the hospital, we never thought something like this would happen. Otherwise, how could we come and go so openly without even dressing up?"
Just look at the photos from that day, both Roy and she were in the costumes of the crew, without even sunglasses or hats. Therefore, they were captured very clearly, and it was impossible to claim it was someone with a similar figure.
Roy waved his hand impatiently, "Don't talk about those useless things. Just tell me about the things you mentioned on the phone. Who is threatening you? Who wants to harm me?"
Elisa had no idea who it was. All those words were taught by her agent, and even the agent had no evidence; it was just judgment based on some external reactions. But she couldn't tell the truth to the other party. The whole point was to use this topic to lure someone out. The mission had to be completed.
"I have no idea who it is specifically, but I can swear someone is trying to harm you. Look at the comments under your Facebook posts; those criticizing you and Director Moran are all internet trolls paid to smear your image!"
Roy sneered, "Can't you say all this over the phone? If you don't know, why did you ask me to come out and meet you privately? Do you want to take a few more photos and hype up our affair?"
"It's not like that! Listen to my explanation..." Elisa took a few steps and approached him, reaching out to tug at his sleeve, but he shook her off.
Just then, camera flashes suddenly lit up.
Both of them were momentarily blinded by the unexpected flashes. By the time they recovered, the paparazzi had already vanished.
"It's not my concern!" Elisa hadn't received any prior information and had no idea that paparazzi would be present. Seeing that photos had been taken, she didn't want to stay any longer, hurriedly leaving the abandoned factory and leaving Roy in the darkness.