Luckily, the alley only held some stray cats and dogs, who, despite their frantic barking, couldn't actually talk. If anyone had been there and recognized him, things would have gotten really interesting.
Despite the fall, Mel Gibson was strong enough, but he still felt like he might have fractured something. Ignoring the pain, he quickly limped away from the scene. After Mel Gibson fled, the police quickly traced the lines to the room. But the place was already empty; no suspect was found. The police had no choice but to seal off the two rooms, leaving specialists to guard them, and then go check for surveillance footage nearby. Unfortunately, Mel Gibson had scouted the area beforehand, and no surveillance cameras caught him.
The police quickly informed Sheena Boone of the news. She felt it was a real shame that Mel Gibson hadn't been caught. If he had been, even without enough evidence to prosecute him, it would have been enough to ruin his reputation. The media aligned with young Gilbert, Disney, and Warner Bros. wouldn't have let him off the hook. Even if 20th Century Fox had collaborations with Mel Gibson, they wouldn't have helped him.
This incident wasn't the end. Early the next morning, Sheena Boone hurried to the Melon Estate to check on young Gilbert and Sophie Marceau. Sophie Marceau slowly woke up, finding herself on a bed, her legs slightly sore, and curious about where she was.
"Where am I?" Sophie Marceau asked, disoriented.
"You're at my place," a male voice nearby said, startling Sophie Marceau. She quickly looked over and saw young Gilbert sitting on a stool by her bed.
"Director Young Gilbert, I..." Sophie Marceau was shocked and quickly tried to sit up, only to realize her clothes were missing. As if knowing her confusion, young Gilbert explained, "Last night, after you drank that medicine, you clung to me and wouldn't let go, so... you know."
Sophie Marceau lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry, Director Young Gilbert, I didn't want to do this. Mel Gibson forced me."
"Now, can you tell me what happened?" young Gilbert asked.
Given the situation, Sophie Marceau decided to go all in, revealing everything truthfully. This included her deliberate plan to befriend Naomi Watts to get closer to young Gilbert, and Mel Gibson's idea to use the celebration party as an opportunity to make a move on young Gilbert. Sophie Marceau also stated that it wasn't her intention to do any of this, but Mel Gibson was threatening her with compromising photos. At this point, Sophie Marceau couldn't help but cry, recounting to young Gilbert how Mel Gibson had abused her.
Last night, young Gilbert had noticed some faint scars on Sophie Marceau's body and had his suspicions. But actually hearing Sophie Marceau tell the story, young Gilbert couldn't help but curse, "That scumbag..." Honestly, even though he was a philanderer with a scoundrel's nature, every woman with him received ample respect and equal treatment. He might not have been able to control his desires, but young Gilbert still treated his girlfriends as relatively equal individuals. So, when it came to intimate matters, if the women weren't willing, young Gilbert wouldn't force them. Of course, his psychology wasn't so twisted as to derive pleasure from abuse. From this perspective, Mel Gibson was somewhat abnormal. Cameron Diaz had a slight tendency, but if young Gilbert was too rough, she wouldn't let him touch her for days.
"Sigh," young Gilbert listened to Sophie Marceau's account. Although it's often said that women's words can be deceptive, he still believed her. "Don't be sad, Sophie. Since you didn't give me that drink last night, even under his threat, I won't let you suffer any more harm," young Gilbert said, patting Sophie Marceau's shoulder to comfort her.
Soon, Sheena Boone arrived, along with young Gilbert's confidante Anna Singh. Naomi Watts, who was at the estate last night, had seen Sophie Marceau's condition. Being part of the Australian clique, she knew some things, so she also came to discuss the situation. After making sure Sophie Marceau was resting, young Gilbert went downstairs to discuss strategy with the others.
After young Gilbert explained what happened, Sheena Boone, Naomi Watts, and Anna Singh, all women, couldn't help but curse Mel Gibson and expressed sympathy for Sophie Marceau's ordeal. Every accomplished European actor dreams of coming to Hollywood to prove themselves, as it's the center of the world's entertainment industry. However, unlike the British and Italian cliques who found smooth sailing in Hollywood, the French clique found it incredibly difficult. Sophie Marceau starred in her first film, "The Party," in 1980 at the age of fourteen, subsequently becoming a dream girl for the French. She was twenty-nine this year and had always wanted to break out of France and go global. But to go global, she absolutely had to go to Hollywood. This led to a series of unforeseen accidents. She had sacrificed too much to go global, and now she almost ended up on a criminal path.
"The key now is, should we use this incident to find these photos?" Sheena Boone posed the question.
Naomi Watts then said, "The crucial point is, we don't know if Mel Gibson took photos of anyone else besides Sophie Marceau. If there are photos of others, there would definitely be more victims, and we don't know who they are." Naomi Watts shivered, remembering how she almost fell into Mel Gibson's clutches herself. Fortunately, young Gilbert was there; otherwise, Naomi Watts couldn't imagine what would have happened to her. Having gone through a similar experience, even though Sophie Marceau almost harmed her man, Naomi Watts felt great sympathy for Sophie Marceau.
Anna Singh offered suggestions: "Boss, we have a few options we can pursue right now."
"Tell me," young Gilbert said, leaning in to listen.
Anna Singh stated, "First, we absolutely must get our hands on those photos. We need to figure out where Mel Gibson is hiding them. Second, we need to protect Sophie Marceau and make Mel Gibson feel threatened. After being scared by the police yesterday, Mel Gibson is probably in disarray right now and might not actually dare to expose Sophie Marceau's photos. Third, find other victims as soon as possible. It would be even better if someone could come forward to accuse him."
Young Gilbert listened intently and nodded in agreement. "Excellent, these are all good suggestions. But regarding the photos, who should we get to do this?"
"I'll do it!" Sheena Boone offered.
"You?" young Gilbert flatly refused. "I can't let you take that risk. Who knows what kind of trouble Mel Gibson might stir up."
"No, no, no, no," Sheena Boone shook her head. "I'll go through an intermediary to get 'Hollywood Eye' to handle this."
"'Hollywood Eye'?" young Gilbert heard of this for the first time.
Sheena Boone explained, "He's a private investigator. He only works for money, not for people. Give him enough money, and he can even find out the color of Michael Eisner's underwear."
"Uh," young Gilbert thought, "Is this the Hollywood version of 'More Money Bro'?" He decided it was acceptable and agreed: "Then find him. Money is not an issue."
"Alright..." Sheena Boone quickly went to contact the intermediary to reach this "Hollywood Eye."
"Oh, right," Naomi Watts suddenly remembered, "'Braveheart' is about to be released. It seems a bit inappropriate for Sophie Marceau, as the leading actress, not to participate in the promotions."
Young Gilbert paused. According to the original plan, Sophie Marceau was supposed to avoid Mel Gibson to prevent him from threatening her again. But she was the lead actress of "Braveheart"; she couldn't miss the necessary premieres and promotional events.
"What should we do then? We can't just not let her go, can we?" young Gilbert asked.
Naomi Watts suggested, "I think, why don't you be her temporary boyfriend? Anyway, you already have so many girlfriends, so you wouldn't mind having another French beauty. If you accompany Sophie Marceau, Mel Gibson will be wary of you and won't act rashly."
"Alright," young Gilbert agreed, thinking of the poor woman. "Then I'll be her bodyguard for a while!"
---
Wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, completely disguised, Craig Evans entered the agreed-upon pub. A new client was meeting him there. Craig Evans sat down at the reserved table and waited. Soon, someone approached him—a middle-aged Caucasian man with rimless glasses, looking much like many agents in Hollywood, sat across from him.
"Craig Evans?"
"That's me..."
Craig Evans didn't ask for the other person's identity; it was an unwritten rule in this line of work not to pry into client information. While he could, the most important thing in this business was reputation. If he exposed client information, who would dare to do business with him in the future?
Sure enough, the middle-aged Caucasian man across from him took out a photo and handed it to Craig Evans, saying, "Investigate him..."
Craig Evans recognized the person in the photo at a glance: Mel Gibson. He feigned hesitation and said, "He's not easy to investigate, unless..."
"Unless what?"
"You pay more..."
The middle-aged Caucasian man didn't hesitate. He directly took out a packet wrapped in oil paper from his bag and handed it to Craig Evans: "This is the deposit. The full amount will be paid once the job is done." This was the rule in their line of work: when investigating someone, you couldn't directly state their name. You either used a code name or referred to them as "him" or "her." Similarly, for safety, Craig Evans never accepted bank transfers, as records could be traced; he only accepted cash.
Weighing the oil paper packet and glancing inside, Craig Evans couldn't help but marvel at the client's generosity; the deposit alone was two hundred thousand dollars. But he understood well: don't ask what you shouldn't. He directly asked about the task: "What do you want me to investigate?"
"Photos, special photos. Of course, the more useful information you find, the more money you'll receive," the middle-aged Caucasian man said.
"OK," Craig Evans took out his lighter and burned the photo. The two then left the pub at different times and in different directions. Their meeting today had never happened.
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