Chapter 3

Taking advantage of Alice's moment of shock, I turned and walked away without another word.

After sending my mom a simple text message, I exited every stunt-double casting group I was in.

Then, I headed straight to the company to terminate my contract and leave the entertainment industry for good.

I had no endorsement deals, no variety shows, no productions tying me down. Besides, my parents were the company's biggest investors behind the scenes, so leaving wasn't difficult for me at all.

That was also why the company had never fired me despite my career being dead for so long.

The only reason things had stayed quiet was because I was afraid people would make a big deal out of it, so I personally asked the company to keep my background secret and even refused to let them give me resources.

The moment I stepped into the company building, I ran into Francis.

The instant he saw me, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes turning red almost immediately.

"Scott, I didn't know the knife was real. I really didn't know…"

I stared at him expressionlessly and let him continue his performance.

When he saw I wasn't reacting, he forced a strained smile and cautiously stepped closer.

"Scott, please don't be mad at me. It's all my fault. Blame me…"

As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward the bandage wrapped around my abdomen.

"Your injury… it's definitely going to scar. I can introduce you to a doctor I know…"

I coldly walked around him.

"So you stab me first, then offer to find me a doctor afterward. You're such a great person."

The second those words came out, the surrounding coworkers exploded.

"Francis, don't listen to him. If anyone's to blame, it's Scott! He saw it was a real knife and didn't dodge. He's obviously desperate for attention!"

"Exactly! Francis is always introducing roles to you. Forget one stab — even if he stabbed you ten times, you have no right to complain!"

"If you ask me, you're just ugly and full of drama! And now, you're even throwing sarcastic remarks at Francis?"

I swept my gaze across the crowd and let out a cold laugh.

"So stabbing me was justified, huh?"

The moment Francis heard that, his eyes reddened even more as he said pitifully, "Scott, that's not what I meant…"

The more innocent and helpless he acted, the louder the crowd became.

"Scott, aren't you taking this too far? Francis already apologized. What else do you want?"

"You think having a Best Actress girlfriend makes you so special? You think too highly of yourself."

"Look at yourself. How dare you compare yourself to Francis? One finger of his is worth more than you!"

"With a face like yours, the only reason you're still in the entertainment industry is because Francis helped you. Otherwise, you would've been kicked out ages ago!"

I took a deep breath and tried to suppress the fury boiling inside me.

They weren't wrong. Francis really was better than me. But everything he had was stolen from me by Sarah and Alice and handed directly to him.

Back then, he had only been an insignificant extra that everyone looked down on. I pitied him and personally asked Alice to help him out.

Who would've thought that one favor would make him famous?

And after becoming famous, he even got involved with my girlfriend.

At some point, the three of them had quietly started working together to destroy me.

I couldn't be bothered wasting more words on him. I reached out to push past him and leave.

But the moment I touched him, he suddenly staggered backward and collapsed dramatically onto the floor, clutching his knee with a pained expression.

"Francis!"

Sarah and Alice rushed out of the elevator at the same time and slammed straight into me, knocking me to the ground.

The wound on my abdomen split open again instantly. Blood poured out nonstop, and the pain made cold sweat break across my forehead.

Before I could even react, Sarah pointed at me and screamed furiously, "Scott! How can you be so petty?!"

Francis covered his waist, tears shimmering in his eyes as he leaned weakly against her.

"I have a commercial event tonight… but after Scott pushed me just now, I'm hurting so badly. I'm afraid I won't be able to go…"

He bit his lip anxiously.

"What if this affects the company?"

The moment he said that, the nearby employees panicked.

"Several major directors are attending tonight's event! If Francis can't make it, our company's reputation will be ruined! You vicious bastard, you did this on purpose!"

Suddenly, I noticed Francis was wearing a tight dress shirt today. The lines of his abdomen looked noticeably rounder than they had in the morning video. The fabric was stretched so tightly that it left visible marks across his stomach.

Right on cue, another floating comment appeared.

[Since Scott no longer cares whether his stomach scars or not, Francis's beer belly is reverting back to normal!]

I lowered my head and glanced at my own abdomen. Though the wound was bloody and gruesome, the surrounding skin had become smooth and pale again.

As I stared silently at my stomach, someone suddenly lifted a foot and stomped on my wound.

Pain exploded through me, and my vision instantly went black.

The others backed away in disgust.

"You got blood all over the company floor. What bad luck."

Sarah looked down at me from above, her eyes filled with contempt and disgust.

"Scott, if you keep refusing to come to your senses, then don't blame me for forgetting our past relationship and recommending that the boss blacklist you!"

Alice added coldly, "Without a top-tier manager like me, you'll never survive in the entertainment industry!"

At that moment, an enraged shout suddenly came from the entrance.

"Outrageous! Who dares cause trouble in my company?!"

The boss strode in furiously.

And behind him stood my mother, her face dark with fury.