Chapter 357

Chapter 357

"What are you talking about? You're my brother—my only family. Even if I spent every penny on you, no one would have a right to say anything." Caroline shook her head. Fifty million dollars was indeed a huge sum for her—it would wipe out most of her savings—but if it meant freeing Blake from this hell, she could afford it.

"You're not planning to renew with your current agency, are you?" Arthur suddenly asked.

Blake nodded. "I already asked to terminate. They couldn't accept it, so this is how they're treating me."

He'd originally planned to keep this from Caroline, but now that she'd tracked him down here and clearly knew most of the story, there was no point hiding it anymore.

"If you don't mind, you could join my entertainment company. My company will cover the penalty. That way you won't have to put up with your old agency anymore, and you won't be bound by their rules." Arthur offered.

He'd actually thought of several ways to help Blake terminate his contract, but none were as simple, practical, and protective as this one.

Caroline clearly cared deeply about her brother. Of course he wanted to make her happy.

"How can I let you pay that?" Caroline immediately shook her head. "I can afford it."

"It's not me paying," Arthur corrected her. "That company is a new investment. We don't have many talent resources yet."

"Your brother became a Best Actor at such a young age. His skills and influence are both strong. If we can bring him to the company, it'll benefit our future development."

"These fifty million dollars can be considered a necessary investment. With his level of fame, it won't take a year before he earns it back for the company."

Arthur explained, then turned to Blake in the bed. "But I need your consent. Are you willing?"

Blake met Arthur's gaze.

He remembered what Arthur had said to him that day.

The situation now wasn't much different from then—except now Caroline knew about it, and he was in even worse shape.

"If you want to sign me, fine." Blake finally spoke. "But I'm going over the contract carefully."

He'd already been burned once by a contract. He wasn't falling into the same trap twice.

"Of course. Once the contract is drafted, I'll send it directly to your sister's company. Her legal team can review it. You'll only sign after confirming there are no issues. How's that?" Arthur agreed readily.

Blake nodded.

"You've already gone out of your way to help me find him. Now you're handling everything else too." Caroline looked at Arthur a bit sheepishly.

She owed him quite a few favors today.

"Signing him to the company will bring me significant profit. It's not entirely for you." Arthur smiled at her. "Besides, he's your brother—and Logan and Layla's uncle. If I can help, I absolutely will."

Caroline nodded.

They agreed he wouldn't deal with the agency anymore, which naturally meant no more filming that variety show.

When she stepped outside, the two guards at the door had vanished.

Arthur helped arrange Blake's hospital transfer, moving him to a city-level hospital. After confirming Blake's injuries weren't serious but would require a month of bed rest to fully heal, Arthur brought him straight back to Sovereign City.

During this time, he also got Blake's agent's contact information.

The agent genuinely cared about Blake, but he too was bound by his company contract and couldn't do much.

Arthur's solution? Poach him too.

An agent's contract wasn't as restrictive as a talent's. When he learned Blake was jumping ship—to a Windsor Group company, no less—he agreed to Arthur's offer without hesitation and handed over Blake's public accounts to the Windsor Group's team to manage.

Arthur told Caroline he'd have people resolve this quickly and ensure Blake's reputation stayed intact.

Caroline even downloaded a related app to keep tabs on public opinion and trending topics.

But before Arthur's team could make a move, the variety show's organizers struck first.

They accused Blake of having no professional integrity, disappearing halfway through filming, and demanded his agency provide an explanation.

The agency responded that this was the artist's personal behavior—they had no knowledge of it—but that Blake's actions constituted breach of contract, and they would hold him accountable once they reached him.

The two sides played off each other perfectly, like a coordinated act.

They were banking on Blake not being able to pay the penalty, which is why they were so brazen.

But they hadn't realized yet that they weren't dealing with a Blake they could push around anymore—they were facing an entire PR team.

The team immediately pulled up clips from the already-aired episodes, along with Blake's medical injury report, and called out the show online.

"Is this what you call a variety show—treating celebrities' lives like a joke, tormenting them however you want? After putting someone in the hospital, your first move is to cover it up and confiscate their phone. Then when they disappear, you launch a public attack? Even human traffickers aren't this shameless."

The show already had a terrible reputation online, and Blake wasn't some nobody.

With this statement, Blake's fans were heartbroken and furious. They flooded the comments saying the show had gone way too far. The official account was bombarded so hard they had to disable comments—no additional evidence even needed.

Seeing Blake's fans' fighting power, the agency that had been demanding penalty payments suddenly went silent.

But the team didn't let them off. They tagged the agency again, asking if this was the kind of gig they arranged for a Best Actor. Had the show been properly vetted? Why was Blake specifically chosen to participate?

While the agency was being grilled from all sides and scrambling to respond, a mysterious contact reached out to them.

"Based on current public opinion, that company's reputation will be completely trashed within three days."

"Once Blake's injuries heal, we'll go terminate the contract directly."

Arthur updated Caroline on the online situation and told her the company's next steps.

Caroline had been following everything closely. She knew public opinion was firmly on Blake's side now. She smiled. "Thank you for all your hard work."

"No need to thank family." Arthur shook his head. "Right now, the priority is making sure he heals properly."

Just then, Blake emerged from his room. Seeing Arthur and Caroline standing so close together, he frowned. "My arm is injured—I'm not paralyzed. You don't need to come by this many times a day, do you?"

Arthur's scheming ran deep after all!