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?”
Elspeth let out a soft sneer that sounded even chillier than the freezing winter. “She knows in her heart what she has done. Just
keep in mind to pass on the message for me.”
Callum fell silent for a moment. Then, he said, “I’m sorry. I’ll compensate for the losses she caused.”
Elspeth sneered in bitter disappointment. “Callum, why do you need to take responsibility for what she does? What are you, her
dad?”

Callum didn’t say a word in response to such jibes, 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 thousand and made to one Alicia Thornton.”
Anger welled up inside Harper when he recalled the person whom he had met last time. “Did that woman get someone to hurt
you again?”
Elspeth let out a snort. “Yeah. She’s really quite something.”
“Take it easy, Elspeth. I’ll make her feel sorry for that.” Harper smiled. Then, he immediately hung up the phone before Elspeth
could realize what he meant.
Harper was quick in doing things. Soon after the phone call, Emma came to Elspeth of her own accord.
Elspeth was resting 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 as she had expected; she caught hold of her hand and flung it away, causing her to
lurch backward.
“Darn you, Elspeth!” Emma snarled furiously. She growled, “What the f*ck did you do? Why did you have to hurt me like that?!”
Surprised, Elspeth asked, “What do you mean?”
“Still playing dumb, huh? Why did you spread slanderous rumors about me on the internet?”
Wait a minute. When did I slander her? All I did just now was 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, looking totally at ease with her arms folded across her chest.
Emma was obviously beside herself with rage. “See it for yourself!” She took out her phone and flung it to Elspeth’s side.
Elspeth picked it up and looked at its screen, on which Emma’s 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 the cheek.
The photo was tagged with the hashtags #AFilthyB*tchBeneathHerAngelicPersona and
#AViciousGoodyTwoShoesWhoPoisonedPeopleInPrivate.

So, this 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 a... wild side to
you.”
Although she used the term ‘wild,’ Emma knew full well that she had deliberately said that to turn her stomach. “Who let you
spread these photos online?!” She was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Never did she think Elspeth could actually find
these things!
“Oh,” Elspeth responded. “What makes you so sure that these things are my doing, Miss Walker?”
Emma gnashed her teeth in hatred. “Who else would spread these photos online if not you?”
Elspeth replied, “Emma, I told you long ago not to get under my skin, or I won’t let you get away with it. Didn’t Callum pass this
on to you?”
Emma was startled for a moment. The 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 told me to stay away from you, saying that you’re bad-
tempered, eccentric, and very vengeful.”
Elspeth raised an eyebrow. “Did he really say that?”
Emma’s giggles were fiendish and grating to the ear. “Of course. He also said he’d dump you and go out with me very soon. Just
wait until he breaks up with you!”
Elspeth merely picked her ears after listening to her words. “Okay, I’ll wait for it, then. Goodbye.”
Seeing Elspeth like this, Emma was exasperated, but she couldn’t do anything about it. In the end, she hurled several threats at
Elspeth before leaving resolutely.
When Elspeth saw the news again, Emma’s public relations team had come out and explained everything on her behalf, claiming
that the poisoning was committed by one of her close aides who was out of control. The photos were claimed to be composites,
in which case Emma’s face was planted on the woman in the photos using deepfake technology.
The netizens seemed to buy the story, but some found out and revealed that Emma had a profligate lifestyle abroad, causing her
to lose a large number of fans.

However, such information was deleted soon after that.
Elspeth knew it was probably Callum who helped Emma cover her *ss to protect her dignity. At the thought of this, she felt very
irritable, so she drove to a well-known local bar right away. Before leaving the filming set, she told Blake to make sure that
Yelena was doing her acting job. She also asked Blake and Max to protect her together without giving any opportunity to those
who might have designs on her.
Max nodded with a chivalrous expression while vowing to keep an eye on Yelena.
Yelena pulled a long face as a bout of despair overcame her.
After saying goodbye to the three, Elspeth went to the bar.
The bar wasn’t far from the filming set. When Elspeth arrived, it happened to be 6.00PM. The sky darkened early in winter, so it
was already dark at the time. In the darkness of night, she stepped into the bar, but a figure followed her inside before she could
sit down and have a drink.
Elspeth didn’t recognize the man when she first looked at him. Upon taking a closer look, she immediately tensed up as though
the man were a formidable enemy. As she had expected, it was Jordan again.
She didn’t understand why Jordan would never leave her alone, so she looked at him with a hint of displeasure in her eyes.
“What’s wrong with you, Mr. Carr? Are you fond of stalking someone?”