Of course, Grandpa knew who that man was—and he knew even more than she did. For example, he knew the true relationship between that man and Cooper, as well as all the things he had done. From the moment Faaris arrived in Hollywood, Grandpa had his eye on him. But seeing how much Laila "enjoyed" his "cooperation," Grandpa hadn't taken action. Instead, he had kept him under constant surveillance.
Don't be fooled—no matter how secretly Faaris had moved his funds back home, he could never escape Grandpa's eyes!
Originally, they had kept him around because Laila still "needed" his "help." But now that he had done something he should never have done—touched the dragon's reverse scale—there was no longer any need to keep him alive!
After talking to Grandpa, Laila finally felt much better.
At that moment, however, many people had already seen the early edition newspapers. Those who didn't often go online, or who didn't browse late at night, had all seen the story about Laila supposedly "being violated by kidnappers while filming Blood Diamond, and possibly giving birth to a mixed-race child."
It was truly a shocking story. Some people didn't believe it, thinking it was impossible. Hadn't she finished the film even after being rescued? If something that horrible had happened, how could she have had the heart to keep filming? She would have come back long ago.
But even more people chose to believe it, deeply worried about the pain she might have suffered. They thought the newspaper wouldn't joke about something so serious. If they reported it, it must be true.
Fortunately, the morning news was broadcasting the latest updates. People could see on TV that it had already been clarified—there had been no such incident! And the photos of Laila and Roy's child were shown on screen. Just looking at the icy blue eyes of his mother and the deep honey-colored hair of his father was enough to confirm whose child he was.
Having it cleared up so quickly made many people breathe a huge sigh of relief. Laila was their idol, the best director in their hearts. What if she had suffered something so painful that and could no longer bring them great films in the future?
Now that the truth was out, those who had been "deceived" by the early papers started flooding those newspapers with complaint calls, leaving the editors in deep agony. If they'd known it would turn out like this, they wouldn't have replaced the original stories. They thought they'd picked up a giant watermelon—only to realize it was a bomb!
While Laila's side had settled down, Faaris was fuming.
This incident had been orchestrated by him. In his country, if a woman were said to have experienced something like that, she probably wouldn't have the courage to go on living, regardless of whether it was true or not. He hadn't expected Laila and the people of this country to be so "shameless." She had produced "evidence" proving her filth, yet so many people still blessed her, and she had resolved everything with just two photos.
He truly couldn't understand—how could people here be so easy to fool?
"Mr. Faaris, I think damaging her reputation like this isn't effective," Cooper said, seeing Faaris watching the TV news with a face full of rage. A hint of schadenfreude even bubbled up inside him.
He had already said before that such tactics wouldn't work; they would only make her fans love and support her even more. But the boss always used his own "experience" as an argument, thinking that if it involved something so scandalous, it would surely devastate her reputation and utterly defeat her.
Of course, he didn't dare let his disdain show on his face. He didn't want to become the punching bag for Faaris's rage.
Faaris's eyes narrowed like a snake's as he glared at him. "You Americans truly have no sense of shame. You can still act as if nothing happened, even after something like that! In my country, if a woman is kidnapped, whether or not she's violated, she must defend her chastity with blood and life!"
Cooper resisted the urge to roll his eyes and lowered his head. "Yes… In our country, people are indeed more tolerant toward women. If you want to damage Laila's reputation, I think we should attack her films. Only by defeating her where she's most proud can we truly bring her down!"
"Easy for you to say!" Faaris sneered at him. "You used to say the same thing before, didn't you? But did you succeed? No matter how many times you tried to sabotage her, didn't she always end up getting exactly what she wanted?"
Cooper opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself. But he knew no matter what he said, Faaris wouldn't listen. The reason was simple: that woman was simply too formidable! For him—or any other director—to truly suppress her was incredibly difficult.
But this was the one thing he refused to admit! He didn't want to acknowledge that Reynolds had produced a daughter who surpassed him in talent. He should have been the one laughing in the end! Reynolds had already gone to meet God, so why was he still being defeated by his daughter?
Was there no one who could beat her?
Suddenly, a name popped into his mind.
"James Cameron!" he blurted out, eyes shining. "Mr. Faaris, Moran isn't truly number one yet. There's still someone towering above her—James Cameron! We can use this to attack her reputation!"
Faaris's eyes flickered. "Go on."
Cooper leaned closer and shared the idea that had just come to him. When he finished, he saw Faaris's eyes grow even darker and more sinister.
That meant he was satisfied, right?
Faaris no longer had much faith in Cooper's ability to defeat Laila. Even though the plan sounded plausible, hadn't there been many "sure-win" moments before? And every time, she had turned the tables, leaving them with not even an excuse for failure.
"I will let you take full responsibility for this. You should know that I don't tolerate subordinates who fail repeatedly, correct?" Faaris looked down at him, as if a poisonous snake was regarding its prey.
Cooper couldn't stand that gaze and quickly lowered his head, nodding hurriedly. "I understand. I won't fail this time!"
Faaris stared deeply at him for a few seconds before finally waving him away. "Then go do it. Whatever resources you need, tell the team. I'll have them support you."
Cooper clenched the fist hidden in his sleeve, answered "Yes," and left the office.
When he returned to his private office, all the expressions on his face—whether submissive or flattering—vanished like mist.
His face turned cold as he opened his computer and began searching for all the information he needed. Thanks to the internet, it was now incredibly easy to find things. With reporters and paparazzi everywhere, even the most obscure information could be dug up online.
Since they had decided to continue attacking Laila from the film angle, movie-related websites and forums were his first stops. On a large forum, he soon found a discussion thread related to Laila.