Chapter 56 Impressive

Chapter 56 Impressive

As soon as Amelia stepped into the living room, she saw Emma sitting on the couch, her eyes red and puffy, with a noticeable bruise on her left cheek and a cut on her lip. She looked utterly miserable.

"What happened?" Amelia asked, her voice dropping to a serious tone as she quickly walked over.

Seeing Amelia, Emma's tears started to flow again. She choked out, "It was Cecilia… We had a small argument, and she suddenly hit me."

Before Amelia could respond, the director, Alton Bridges, hurried down the stairs, his face full of apologies. "Ms. Martinez, thank goodness you're here. Please, calm down. The most important thing right now is to handle the situation with Ralph and Aurelia. We can discuss everything else later."

Amelia's gaze turned icy as she looked at Alton. "Alton, please gather everyone in the living room, including Ralph and Aurelia. I have some questions for them."

"Of course, I'll get someone to call them right away!" Alton didn't dare delay and quickly instructed his assistant to notify everyone. Seeing Amelia's stern expression, he added, "Ms. Martinez, this incident is our fault for not managing the show properly. We'll fully cooperate with you to resolve this and ensure you're not troubled."

Amelia's tone softened slightly. "Alton, this isn't your fault. Someone is deliberately causing trouble. I won't take it out on you, so don't worry." She was always fair and knew Alton was caught in the middle, so there was no need to direct her anger at him.

In no time, the guests and staff gathered in the living room. Cecilia stood among them, arms crossed, looking defiant as if she hadn't just hit someone. Ralph and Aurelia stood in a corner, heads down, looking conflicted.

Amelia moved to the center of the room, her gaze sweeping over everyone before settling on Emma. "Emma, Cecilia hit you. Now, you hit her back."

Emma hesitated, shrinking back. "I… I can't." She had always been gentle and had never fought anyone, let alone hit someone first.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Amelia stood beside her, her tone firm. "I won't tolerate bullying under my watch. If you don't stand up for yourself now, people will only bully you more in the future, and this show will become a mess. No one will be able to film properly."

Seeing the seriousness in Amelia's eyes and Cecilia's arrogant demeanor, Emma finally gritted her teeth, walked up to Cecilia, and slapped her across the face.

The sharp sound echoed clearly in the quiet living room.

Cecilia, not expecting Emma actually to hit her, covered her cheek, her eyes filled with venom. "You've got some nerve! Do you know who my friend is? My friend is Lily!"

Amelia let out a cold laugh, stepping in front of Emma. "Lily is your friend? Does Lily know you're pursuing the person she likes on this show?"

Cecilia's face turned pale, and she opened her mouth to retort, but Amelia cut her off. "You're always after Henry, bringing him water and checking on him. Isn't that pursuing him?"

"I'm just looking out for him for Lily!" Cecilia shouted, almost jumping in frustration. "Emma's trying to seduce Henry. What's wrong with me teaching her a lesson?"

"Really?" Amelia raised an eyebrow, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "So you can pursue Henry, but no one else can? What kind of logic is that? If you're looking out for Henry for Lily, maybe you should check your own behavior first."

Cecilia was left speechless, her face turning red with anger, unable to come up with a response.

Ignoring her, Amelia turned to the others. "I need to tell you all something. From the moment you arrived on this show, besides the cameras you can see, you have been under surveillance, with hidden cameras in every corner of the villa. Every action and word of yours has been recorded."

"Impressive." A deep male voice suddenly came from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Henry leaning against the doorframe, twirling his car keys, his eyes full of admiration for Amelia.

Alton quickly approached Henry, bowing and apologizing. "Mr. Phillips, this is all my fault. I didn't manage the guests properly and caused you trouble."

Henry glanced at him, his tone icy. "Yeah, it is your fault."

Alton had heard of Henry's sharp tongue but had never experienced it firsthand. Now, being reprimanded so bluntly, his face froze, and he didn't dare breathe, afraid of further angering him.

Seeing Alton's silence, Henry didn't press further. He walked over to the couch, sat down, crossed his legs, and said lazily, "Carry on like I'm not here."

Despite his words, no one in the room dared to ignore him. After all, he was the CEO of the Phillips Group, and a single word from him could determine the fate of the show. Only Amelia seemed unaffected, continuing to address Ralph and Aurelia. "Ralph, Aurelia, regarding the photos of you two, we're all adults here. 'Accident' and 'misunderstanding' are excuses fit for TV dramas. I don't want those kinds of answers. Whoever did it, just come forward and explain. I'll give them a chance to make amends."

The room fell silent, with no one stepping forward. Ralph kept his head down, and Aurelia clutched her shirt, avoiding eye contact.

Seeing this, Amelia didn't push them. She turned to Dahlia and signaled. "Dahlia, get the surveillance footage from Alton's office and bring a laptop. We'll all watch it together."

"Got it!" Dahlia was about to leave when Cecilia suddenly rushed to block her, her face twisted in panic. "You can't show the footage! It's an invasion of privacy!"

Amelia ignored her, looking directly at Alton. "Alton, please have someone retrieve the footage."

Alton, frightened by the situation, quickly nodded. "I'll get someone on it right away!"

Cecilia continued to block Dahlia, her voice breaking. "You can't show it! There are clips of me without clothes. If you show it, I'll sue you!"

Amelia remained calm, her tone steady. "If you're worried about privacy, there are two options—either the men leave, and only the women watch, or we hand the footage over to the police and let them handle it."

Cecilia's face turned even paler. She knew Amelia meant what she said, and the footage would be shown no matter what.

Amelia glanced at the clock on the wall, her tone firm. "I'm running out of patience. You have one minute to decide."

Cecilia clenched her teeth, her nails digging into her palms. Finally, she gave in, her voice barely audible. "It was me… I leaked the photos to the media and deliberately misled everyone about Ralph and Aurelia…" Her confession was half-hearted, lacking any genuine remorse.