Chapter 2140
Ivy glanced around bewildered.
The room was filled with an assortment of expressions. Some faces were twisted with mockery, others couldn’t bear to watch the underhanded scheming unfold. But unanimously, they had all pegged her as the culprit.
What more was there to say?
Even Colton seemed to think she owed them an explanation.
Ivy composed her expressions. She refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing her appear pitiful and beg for their mercy.
She was innocent and her conscience was clear. She’d stand tall in her accusation.
“So, what’s it going to be? You gonna call the cops and have me cuffed?” she asked boldly.
One screenwriter hesitated. Truth be told, he was wary of crossing Ivy, especially with the Balfour family backing her. The Howards were not à family you wanted to mess with, and this whole situation was a real pickle.
If they didn’t take action, they risked others on set following suit, which might potentially ruin the movie.
But when it came down to reprimanding her, the screenwriter weighed his status and knew his limits.
“Ivy, we brought you in to resolve this internally,” he started tentatively. “It’s just a little friction, no need to make a mountain out of a molehill and involve the police. That won’t do our film any favors. Just apologize to the victim, cover the medical costs, and we can put this whole thing behind us.”
At the end of the day, her innocence was irrelevant to the production crew.
They had seen the surveillance footage, a partial view that had convinced them of her guilt.
They were simply trying to minimize the fallout, not concerned with what she had or hadn’t done.
“I disagree,” Ivy retorted firmly. “If you don’t believe me, go ahead and call the authorities. I’m willing to cooperate with the investigation. But I will not apologize for something I haven’t done.”
The screenwriter couldn’t grasp why Ivy was being so stubborn.
The surveillance clearly showed her sneaking into Diana’s dressing room. What more was there to argue?
“Ivy, try to see it from our point of view,” he urged, his tone laced with a hint of a threat. “We want to keep this quiet, for the sake of everyone’s future on this project.”
Ivy’s lip twitched in defiance.
“If your idea of cooperation involves forcing me to confess to a crime I didn’t commit, then I want no part of it.”
Ivy’s bold declaration sent a ripple of disbelief through the crew. When had they ever seen a guilty suspect so resolute?
“The way she’s acting, it’s not just an attitude problem. It’s a character flaw,” someone chimed in. “She did something wrong but didn’t feel guilty at all? Can we really have such a person as our leading lady?”
Now that someone had spoken up, others began to echo the sentiment.
“Exactly. Our lead should be upright and honest. Ivy is the polar opposite of what she is acting.”
Suddenly, everyone seemed to have doubts about Ivy’s suitability for the lead role.
Being a newcomer, Ivy had already stirred up some envy when she outshone a host of renowned actresses. And now, they wouldn’t miss a chance to take her down.
The entertainment industry’s true colors were shown. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, Ivy thought ruefully.
“If the investigation proves I’m the perpetrator, I’ll willingly leave the set. But I refuse to be condemned based on a vague surveillance clip that doesn’t even show the person’s face clearly!”
At that moment, Colton crushed his cigarette underfoot and stood up.
“What do you think?” he addressed the crowd. “Do we truly believe this footage is enough to indict Ivy as the assailant?”
His words served as a reminder to everyone that the footage merely showed someone in the same outfit as Ivy, but the crucial evidence would be identifying the face of the person in question.
