There were still some loose rubbles tumbling down when the four of them tried rushing downwards the cliff using the safety net path. Without noticing, Violet had scratched her hand against the falling rubble when she tried hitting them away.
Seeing Violet was hitting the rubble, Sebastian pulled her back. It was too dangerous to move, so they had to take cover in the tunnel for a while. That was when Violet noticed how close Penny was to Wayne. Sebastian noticed too, and it was hard for him to ignore.
Penny was a little shaken to keep up an act after knowing Wayne was nearly in danger. Wayne looked away, not wanting to explain, as Sebastian gently patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. It's not like I don't have enough trouble of my own. Why would I find trouble messing with you? Trust us. We won't say a word." Sebastian assured Wayne, who was looking at him meaningfully.
Sebastian's gesture made Wayne want to give up doubting him instantly, plus he knew Sebastian had all along been not the bad guy.
"She's my legal wife…" Wayne revealed in a lower voice as Sebastian shook his head sternly at him while putting a finger over his lips. Violet knew the meaning of it as she screamed out of the blue for help.
"Vi! What's wrong?!" It sent Sebastian into panic as Penny got even more shaken while Wayne held her closer. Violet took off her jacket while continuing to scream and covered it over Penny.
She shared a gaze with both Sebastian and Wayne that made them understand she was diverting attention if there were spy cameras or spies around. With that, Sebastian too started screaming for help.
Fortunately, their screams were gaining help to locate them quickly, while the rubble at the entrance of the tunnel was quickly removed by the workers who tended to the cliff site. Filming for the day was called off early as Violet updated Sam on the incident.
Sam told her he had made separate arrangements, and they just had to wait for a driver to pick them up, but it would take an hour or so. In actual fact, Sam was already on the way there to pick them up the moment he received updates from the director, who was a close acquaintance, that filming was wrapped, or rather halted due to the accident. At this rate, he couldn't trust anyone but himself.
Penny spotted Violet, who was still disoriented, and went up to her with some ailment when the crew was packing up to leave.
"Sister, you were injured. Come, let me help you apply…" Penny said before putting the ailment for Violet, who was trying to regain her composure. Violet had felt very strange about her since day one, and seeing her acting this friendly was probably against her will.
"Violet. Just call me Violet." Violet corrected as Penny nodded. "Are you alright from earlier? Is your actor alright too?" Violet cleared her throat, trying not to make the situation awkward.
"Yes, don't worry. Keep your wound dry, alright?" Penny said while tearing a plaster. "Alright. By the way, I'm sorry for the scare earlier." Violet said as Penny smiled.
"Don't worry, rest well. I have to get back to check on Wayne… See you again." Penny said as Violet nodded and saw Sam rushing over to her.
"Vi! You're alright?" Violet was grateful that most of the workers had departed by then. Violet nodded solemnly. "How on earth did you get here so fast? I thought you said an hour and wait for a driver…" Violet sighed in relief, knowing he must have made arrangements with the crew members.
"The director." He whispered before asking his question. "How sure are you of who you saw?" Sam questioned her urgently.
"I only saw a vague black figure, so…" Violet's words trailed off when Sebastian walked up.
"Why are you here?" Sebastian questioned as Sam nodded before heading to the director for a negotiation. "I know what to do," Sam told Violet before dashing off.
"What's wrong?" Sebastian questioned Violet, but she could only sigh.
On the way to the newly booked homestay arranged by Sam, he was informing both Sebastian and Violet that he had negotiated with the director to compromise using a safer place at the lower hill, or else they needed to find ways to compromise, as he wouldn't allow them to let Sebastian film up there anymore. He also mentioned that filming was halted temporarily and might move on to other scenes first.
Sebastian had noticed the strangeness of the whole situation as he began to pester Violet for answers in the car.
"Vi… Tell me what happened?" Sebastian sat closer to the front seat as she met with Sam's gaze, who nodded in agreement to tell.
"I saw a black figure tampering with the equipment earlier…" Violet said as Sebastian put his right palm over his face and sighed.
"Do you know who it is?" Violet checked as Sebastian sighed.
"It's hard to say… Where are we heading?" Sebastian asked, noticing a different route.
"A different hotel for precaution…" Sam updated.
"Let me get Wayne and his wife over… I mean assistant…" Sebastian corrected before texting Wayne, but noticed his slip of tongue as he looked up at Sam.
"Don't worry, I ensured the car is tamper-free." Sam knew something was going on, but he continued to drive them all to the hotel.
When they reached and checked in, Wayne rushed in with Penny minutes later in disguise, as they were all afraid of being tailgated.
"One thing at a time…" Wayne noticed all eyes were on him and Penny.
"Sit…" Sam invited them.
"Sam Chu?" Wayne asked as he nodded.
"I have heard a lot about you! I didn't know you knew him?" Wayne told Sebastian. Sebastian simply nodded.
"My sister…" Sam, introduced as Violet, served them bottled water.
"You're alright?" Violet double checked on Penny.
"I'm… Fine but… We have something to explain about that…" Penny said skeptically as Wayne nodded.
"Wow, what's going on?" Violet questioned as she took a seat for the revelation.
Wayne first explained his situation with Penny and also revealed Penny's psychological condition. He explained his weariness was mainly due to a threat to Pei Li by someone he had not identified.
As for Sebastian, he revealed the agency had been against him due to his unwillingness to cooperate with the tight schedules, and he admitted that his divorce was a result of all the rumours Violet had heard earlier in the day.
Penny then pointed out that there was something fishy with Sebastian's assistant. That brought Violet's attention to reveal the findings and arrangements she had discovered and made the whole day.
Sebastian wanted her fired, while Sam wanted to intervene, only for Violet to plot something to trap her to avoid getting more trouble with the agency. Everyone made a deal to protect each other from then on.
When everyone was getting ready to rest, it was a little overwhelming for Violet to be witnessing such harm earlier, as she sat by the balcony for a bit of fresh air. She was trying to calm herself by going through Sebastian's schedule and things to prepare in advance since the filming was still tentatively shifted to the studio.
Sam, noticing her abnormal behaviour, went up to her and took the tablet away from her. "Wait… I need to…" She protested.
"You have been checking for the past half an hour. Aren't you sure yet?" Sam scolded.
"I need to be very sure. I need to remember it all." Violet said in distress as Sam sighed and squatted in front of her.
"Vi, there's only that much you can do. It's the studio, so it will be much safer." He calmly assured her, but it wasn't convincing.
"You never know. Give it back…" She pleaded, nearly in tears.
Sam hugged her. His sudden, gentle gesture took her by surprise as she forced her tears away.
"Cry… It's alright. I know how much it frightened you earlier…" Sam comforted as she began to sob silently.
"It's not an easy industry, Vi. That's why it's best if you don't dive too deep." Sam reminded her as she held him tightly.
Sebastian heard them as he stood by the corner, eavesdropping, and was also reminded to keep his distance from Violet, especially when he is at work, else he would only invite more harm on her.
Just when Violet was trying to calm down, her phone rang. The caller ID was sinister. It was Edward's sister who was known as a nice lady, but Violet had minimal interaction with her all this time.
"Hello?" Violet answered skeptically.
"Violet? I'm Sarah. Edward's sister." Sarah sounded in a hurry.
"I know. Why are you calling?" Violet asked impatiently, knowing trouble was brewing.
"We need your help with Dexter." Violet sighed nervously when she heard Sarah.
"What's wrong?" Her shaky voice had Sam holding her left hand to comfort her while eavesdropping.
"His mother passed away, and he is uncontactable. We can't proceed with the wake or funeral without his consent and arrangements. I'm sorry. It was a desperate call…" Sarah pleaded, which brought involuntary tears to Violet's eyes once again.
"I will be back. I will call you when I arrive in Lagospool." She swallowed the huge lump in her throat painfully.
"Thank you! Thank you…" Sarah hung up gratefully as Violet stood.
"I will come with you." Sam offered as Violet shook her head.
"You stay. I can manage. Sebby needs you. I will keep you updated, and I will call." Violet, for once, was stronger than Sam thought as he reluctantly let her pack up her bags before driving her to the airport.
Sebastian was a little taken aback by Violet's reaction as she didn't even bid goodbye to anyone, but quickly packed and left as though never to return again. Knowing Sebastian might think too much, Sam explained to Sebastian the situation when he returned to the inn.
"Don't worry. She is like that when things happen. She is very focused on dealing with matters at hand. Don't misunderstand her. She will explain to you later. Now, you need to focus on the filming and the situation we have on hand." Sam comforted as Sebastian nodded with a distant look in his eyes.
There was more trouble heading their way, and he couldn't allow himself to waver at this point, as he believed Violet would do fine.
Sam then received a call from his dad about the passing of his in-law and requested that he accompany him to the funeral, which brought Sebastian wanting to join along. He thought a brief break would be fine, even if it's just a day, since the filming schedule was still not confirmed.
Besides, he wanted to see Violet, whom he was worried about. Sam had no choice but to bring along Sebastian, who was an expert in disguising himself, on the next flight to Lagospool the next morning.