Chapter 263 I'm Not Interested in This Deal
"Who are you?" When Nora saw the person sitting in her room, she was so scared she didn't even dare turn on the lights.
She was about to turn and leave when she looked back and saw another person standing behind the door, which instantly jolted her awake.
"Don't be afraid, I don't mean to hurt you."
"If you don't mean to hurt me, why did you break into my place? How did you even get in here?"
"Don't you know this is illegal?"
Were the person at the door and the one behind it not the same group?
"Who are you people? Did Kurt send you? I already told you, I don't have that kind of ability. Why do you keep pushing me again and again?"
Nora had been on the verge of a mental breakdown lately.
She kept feeling like she'd offended some rich people and would soon be destroyed by them.
Kurt kept pressing her, and now here was another one.
The person sitting on the sofa pulled out a photo from their chest and handed it to Nora. "Do you know this person?"
"William?" Nora glanced at the photo and froze for a moment. Another person looking for William?
"You know him?"
"No, I don't," Nora had learned her lesson and wasn't about to put herself in that kind of helpless position again. Besides, William was hardly a good person.
William was cold and ruthless, with vicious methods. He could put people in an awkward position without lifting a finger.
Making them crawl at his feet like a lapdog.
Nora studied the middle-aged man before her. Judging by his appearance, he was about fifty, wearing a proper suit with streaks of white at his temples, his manner elegant but distant.
It wasn't hard to tell he came from a good family and had grown up immersed in privilege his whole life.
When the man heard Nora say she didn't know him, he didn't think much of it. Instead, he figured William and she must have had a fight, which explained her angry denial.
The Jimenez family wanted to bring William back. He'd been in Emerald City for days without even catching a glimpse of William.
Left with no choice, he had to dig around for recent gossip in Emerald City. What he heard most about was Nora's relationship with William, with people teasing about it while also watching the drama unfold.
If he hadn't gone days without even seeing William's back, why would he be desperate enough to come find Nora?
"Nora, how about we make a deal?" As he spoke, he leaned to the side, and only then did she see the suitcases laid open on the floor, all filled with cash.
"If you can get me a meeting with William, all the money in these four or five cases behind me is yours."
The Jimenez family would stop at nothing to get William to acknowledge his roots.
Without even looking, Nora knew the suitcases behind her contained millions of dollars. For her current situation, it was quite a temptation.
But some money she could take but not live to spend. If she dared to go against William, she'd die a horrible death. This money would be buying her death.
She worked in entertainment. If she became famous later, she could easily make this kind of money from just one or two shows.
This money—she didn't dare take it.
"I'm not interested in this deal."
"If you think it's not enough money, we can add more."
The middle-aged man hadn't expected her to refuse and was somewhat surprised. He thought to himself, 'Do girls in the entertainment industry these days all have this much backbone?'
"Some money I can take but not live to spend. I can't help you with this. Please leave!" Nora stepped aside from the doorway, gesturing for them to go.
Stefan looked at Nora, unable to read her for a moment: "Do you know what you're giving up right now?"
"I don't know what I'm giving up, but I know what I'm keeping. You came to find me because you haven't met Mr. Brown. If you had met him, you'd know what kind of person he is. If I take your money today, I might not have a life tomorrow. What use is money I can take but not live to spend?"
"In other words, you want to use a million dollars to buy my life. Isn't my life worth too little?"
William wasn't someone she could mess with.
If it weren't for that thing with Kurt, she might have been foolish enough to charge ahead. But now, having learned her lesson, going back for more would make her an idiot.
Hearing her words, Stefan's expression darkened. It seemed everyone in Emerald City understood this child of the Jimenez family who grew up away from home, except the Jimenez family themselves, who kept taking losses in Emerald City again and again.
"You know him well?"
Know him well?
She wouldn't dare say that.
"I've just had the fortune of witnessing Mr. Brown's methods."
She barely crawled back alive.
Stefan fell silent for a moment, glanced at the guard behind the door, and signaled them to take the cases away.
As he was leaving, Stefan nodded politely, showing perfect gentlemanly manners: "Sorry for the intrusion."
After everyone left, Nora leaned against the door, breathing heavily.
Were these people all crazy?
Why did they keep coming to find her, a nobody actress who hadn't even made it yet, when they had no ability themselves?
A knock sounded behind her. Nora's hair stood on end. She looked through the peephole and only opened the door when she saw it was Linda.
"What's wrong? You're pale and covered in cold sweat."
"Nothing. Why are you here?"
"Bringing you a late-night snack."
"Eat something and get some rest. Don't overthink it."
Nora nodded without saying anything.
The next day, Thalia arrived at the film studio early in the morning. When Nora got there, she saw the makeup artist doing Thalia's makeup and styling. Thalia had just put on her wig and sat in the chair in a red outfit, letting the makeup artist work on her face.
Today's final scene was to be shot in the forest. Thalia had to ride a horse to save the seriously injured Gregory. Aaron had very high requirements for this scene—she had to actually ride the horse.
All the pressure was on Thalia.
Aaron was in Thalia's makeup room, trying to work on her psychologically, getting her to ride the horse herself.
When Aaron had discussed this with Layla yesterday, Layla flatly refused, not wanting Thalia to do it herself. The scene was already dangerous, and it was the last scene. If Thalia got injured in the final scene, it would be a huge loss. She strongly suggested using a stunt double, but Aaron thought using a double would look too fake. He went over Layla's head and started talking to Thalia directly.
"Ride a horse? Does Thalia know how?"
Other people on set were all discussing: "And looking at the script, it seems like she has to ride deep in the forest and even cross water. That's pretty difficult, right? Plus, Aaron has such high standards—they probably won't get it done all day today."
"Who knows, but apparently Aaron still hopes Thalia can do it herself and push through."
"This isn't about pushing through or not. What if Thalia gets injured in the last scene? It'll affect her getting into other productions next time."
Everyone was worried about this problem.