Chapter 512

“She had a lot of lines because she was the lead. And as the lead, she should have memorized her lines. That’s her job.”
“And you only had a few?”
“Because I was just a supporting character. But even as a supporting character, I took my job seriously. I not only memorized my lines, but I memorized hers as well.”
“And then the director yelled at you?”
“The director plays favorites. He didn’t dare offend her, so he tried to send her a message by yelling at me instead.”
“But when this whole thing blew up and everyone was demanding the director speak out, he posted a message that said: ‘Only a few lines, and still can’t remember them. I don’t know if this actor has a problem with her memory or her attitude.””
“He was still afraid of Natalie, so he was vague, but he was obviously referring to her.”
Penelope raised an eyebrow. “But you were the one with only a few lines. As the lead, Natalie had several pages of dialogue. So wasn’t the director clearly talking about you?”
Maria’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. She stared at Penelope again. At first, she thought she was just a random bystander and had engaged with her, but it was clear this woman knew more about the situation and was deliberately targeting her.
At Penelope’s words, the crowd fell silent.
The director’s post from that day had only been up for a few minutes before it was deleted. And after that, the director had vanished from the scene, never directing another project.
Everyone had been quick to assume that Natalie had enough power to have the director blacklisted. But analyzing the director’s words again, it seemed they weren’t aimed at Natalie, but more likely at Maria.
But back then, how could Maria have had that kind of power?
“For a rising star to be shelved so completely, Ms. Scott, you must be quite powerful indeed! And this isn’t just my speculation. Your meteoric rise these past few years proves my point,” Penelope continued.
“Who are you to Natalie?” Maria asked coldly.
“I heard another version, that it was the supporting actress who couldn’t remember her lines. Even with only a few, she couldn’t get them right, which is why the director posted what he did. But this minor actress had a powerful backer, so she could have a rising star shelved, blacklist a talented director, and silence everyone on set from that day.”
“Everything you’re saying is slander. You asked me for proof, so now I’m asking you,
do you have any?”
“I only mentioned ‘the supporting actress.’ I never said it was you!”
“You!”
“It’s hard to sort out what really happened back then, but maybe we should ignore the process and look at the results. Isn’t the result that Natalie completely vanished from the public eye, while you, MScott became a massive star? So who has the real power? The answer is obvious!”
Maria’s lips tightened into a thin line as she shot a look at one of her bodyguards.
The bodyguard approached Penelope. “Miss, please delete the video!”
“Oh, look. A guilty conscience?”
“Please cooperate!”
The bodyguard moved quickly toward her. Penelope filmed him for another moment,
then quickly put her phone away.
“Ms. Scott, ordering your
bodyguards to attack an innocent
person is clearly something only you
would do! Tsk tsk, I guess everyone
know now who you really can’t cross, who the reaftyrant of the entertainment industry is. Don’t get it twisted-if you offend Ms. Scott, you’re finished!”
With that, she turned and ran.
Maria dropped the act and ordered all her bodyguards to catch Penelope.