Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

The young lady’s lips parted. “I-I have no idea.”

Elspeth narrowed her eyes. “You have no idea? Then who gave you this and made you do it?”

The young lady turned pale. “I-It was a stranger who made me do it. She said the grass would cause diarrhea, which could then cause the filming to be postponed. But I never thought it’d cause poisoning—”

Elspeth let out a laugh. “How much were you paid to do this?”

“A hundred thousand in cash.”

Just a hundred thousand in cash? That’s so stingy of Emma, thought Elspeth. “What’s your name?”

The young lady hemmed and hawed for a moment. Nevertheless, she answered honestly, “My name’s Alicia Thornton.”

Figuring out what had happened, Elspeth shook her head in resignation. “I called the police just now. You’d better turn yourself in; perhaps you’ll get a lighter sentence.”

I’m going to jail… Alicia broke down at once; she slumped to the ground and burst into loud sobs.

Elspeth was in no mood to hear her wailing, though. Instead, she dialed Callum’s number.

“What’s the matter?” Callum sounded cool and distant over the phone.

Elspeth’s chilly voice sounded even more heartless than the man’s. “Please tell Emma that I won’t let her off if she does something against my interests again.”

Callum’s imperturbable voice finally showed a hint of emotion when he noticed that something was wrong with her voice. “Did she do anything again?”

in

silent for a moment. Then, he said, “I’m sorry. I’ll compensate for the

disappointment. “Callum, why do you need to take responsibility for what she does? What are you,

but Elspeth sensed that the man’s breathing became somewhat heavier on the other end of the line. “Alright then, protect her if you want,” she said before hanging up right away. Then, she called Harper, saying, “Harper, help me look into Emma’s recent transaction records or the transaction records of those close to her. Mark the transaction that was worth one hundred

he had met last

a snort. “Yeah. She’s

sorry for that.” Harper smiled. Then, he immediately hung up the phone before Elspeth could realize what he

things. Soon after the phone call, Emma came to

on the couch on the filming set when Emma suddenly barged in and raised her hand in an attempt to slap her. However, the pain didn’t hit Elspeth

furiously. She growled, “What the f*ck did you do? Why did you have to hurt

asked, “What do you

spread slanderous

ask Harper to look into her, so he probably has exposed her for who she really is on the internet by now, thought Elspeth. “How did I slander you? Don’t you have a clue about what you’ve done?” she retorted,

yourself!” She

photo was apparently shown. In the photo, Emma was drinking with a bunch of foreigners with a coquettish smile on her face. Not only that, but one of the foreigners had his arm around her waist, while the other even daringly kissed her on

with the

is what Harper meant by ‘making her feel sorry’… Elspeth couldn’t hide her amusement as she looked at the photo. “What’s wrong, Miss Walker? Aren’t you the woman in the photo? But I really never expected you to have such

deliberately said that to turn her stomach. “Who let you spread these photos online?!” She

so sure that these things are my doing, Miss

gnashed her teeth in hatred. “Who else would spread these photos online

you long ago not to get under my skin, or I won’t let you get away with it. Didn’t Callum

next instant, she said with a coquettish giggle, “Callum didn’t tell me that, of course. He knows my character better than anyone else does. On the contrary, he