Chapter 22

"You bet you are!" Natalie shot Zoey a look that could kill.

"Since I got into this business, no one's ever crossed me and gotten away with it. Anyone who tried got their career wrecked."

She held up a tube of lipstick. "This is my secret weapon. Get a whiff of it, and you'll break out in hives, and your lips will blow up like balloons. Everyone will just think you had a bad reaction. Enjoy the ride."

Zoey, burning up with fever, couldn't shake off Natalie's assistant.

With Natalie so close, Zoey's eyes blazed, and she kicked Natalie hard in the stomach.

"Ugh!"

Natalie hadn't expected Zoey, even with a fever, to have that kind of strength. She doubled over in pain.

Claire, who had already gotten up from the floor, shoved Natalie from behind, sending her sprawling.

"Natalie!"

The assistant, seeing Natalie on the ground, instinctively loosened her grip on Zoey for a bit.

Zoey stumbled back, smacking her face and causing her nose to bleed.

Claire quickly shoved the assistant aside and dragged Zoey out of the restroom.

"Get her! I'm gonna ruin her face!"

Natalie, seething with rage, only wanted to destroy Zoey's face.

In her mind, once Zoey's face was messed up, Henry would dump her, which would give Natalie a shot at the top.

The reason for Zoey's disfigurement didn't matter.

Two years ago, she had used the same trick to ruin a popular star's face, making her sugar daddy lose interest.

Thanks to Natalie's bedroom skills, Natalie not only had avoided any fallout but also had climbed the ranks, eventually snagging the Best Actress award with that sugar daddy's help.

The assistant wiped the blood from her nose and chased after them, furious.

She quickly caught up, shoving Claire's injured shoulder. Claire cried out in pain and got kicked to the ground.

Seeing Claire down again, Zoey's eyes burned with anger.

Zoey turned to see the assistant reaching for her arm. She dodged and punched the assistant in the face.

The assistant's face crumpled instantly, too stunned to even scream. She hit the hallway wall and collapsed on the cold cement floor, spitting out blood and a tooth.

Claire's jaw dropped in shock, almost wide enough to catch flies.

She suddenly realized she didn't know her friend Zoey as well as she thought.

Zoey worked out, sure, but Claire never expected her to be strong enough to knock out someone's tooth, even while she was in the grip of a fever.

Claire couldn't help but give Zoey a thumbs up. "Zoey, you're a total badass."

Natalie stormed out of the restroom just in time to see this, her face twisting with rage.

This assistant was useless. Looked like she had to handle it herself.

She quickly approached Zoey from behind, grabbing her shoulder and trying to smear the lipstick on Zoey's lips as she turned.

"Zoey, watch out!"

Claire's face went pale with fear, unable to stop it in time.

Zoey's eyes turned icy, and she swiftly turned her head, smacking Natalie's wrist, sending the lipstick flying.

But it wasn't over. Zoey kicked Natalie's shin.

With a sickening crack, Natalie's face contorted in agony.

"Ah!" Her scream practically echoed off the walls, just as Henry arrived in the hallway.

His eyes darkened, and before the director and others could react, Henry was already by Zoey's side.

"Zoey, does your leg hurt?" His voice was tight with concern.

Zoey looked at him, confused. "I'm fine."

The ones in trouble were Natalie and her assistant, not her.

Seeing her beautiful face without a trace of pain, Henry relaxed and loosened his grip on her shoulder. "As long as you're okay."

Just then, Natalie's hysterical voice filled the hallway. "Mr. Windsor, I'm hurt! This vicious woman broke my leg, and my assistant lost a tooth. I need to call the police!"

Henry frowned and turned to see Natalie, whose face was streaked with tears, and hair was a mess; she was sitting on the ground clutching her broken leg, crying like the world had ended.

Everyone was shocked to see Natalie in such a state.

She looked like a beggar on the street.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Miss Davis, were you really beaten by Ms. Cavendish? Ms. Cavendish has a high fever. How could she have the strength to beat you?"

Hearing this, Natalie felt a sharp pain in her chest, almost spitting blood.

Her assistant, mouth full of blood, quickly spoke up, "Natalie isn't lying. It was really Zoey who beat us."

She continued, "We just came to use the restroom, but she said all these nasty things to Natalie, claiming Mr. Windsor was hers and warning Miss Davis not to overestimate herself, or she'd have Mr. Windsor fire her."

"Natalie tried to leave, but Zoey grabbed her hair, saying she needed to teach Natalie a lesson. When I begged her to let Natalie go, she knocked out my tooth. It hurts so much!" The assistant finished, crying pitifully.

Everyone looked at Zoey with mixed emotions.

For a moment, Zoey felt like she looked like a brazen bully in their eyes.