The woman"s knees trembled, and she instinctively backed away. Daniel took a step forward, slammed the door behind him and locked it.Then he walked with a firm step to the woman who was trembling with fear, took her chin, slightly leaned her head back and looked straight into her eyes.
"Look into my eyes. Listen to my voice. Answer "yes" if you understand me," Daniel said in an even, almost metallic voice.
The woman"s body stopped trembling, her hands hung along her torso, and she stood docilely and did not take her eyes off the man, "yes," she answered.
"Where do you get these pictures from?"
"They were anonymously sent to our editorial office three days ago," Juliette replied like a robot.
"Do you know anything else about my brother and Elena Lee?"
"No, I don"t."
"Good. Now listen to me carefully and do as I tell you. After I leave your room, you will go to the studio director and write a letter of resignation at your own request. In your twitter, you will officially ask Elena and David for an apology. You will say that you were wrong and made a serious mistake as a professional. Also, you will tell everyone that you are leaving the world of television forever. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," the woman replied obediently.
"Hmmm... and one more thing. Try to change your character. Otherwise, you will never find a husband for yourself," Daniel finished his demands.
"I will count to three now; you will sit on a chair, close your eyes, and open them in ten minutes. After that, you will go and do everything as I said. You will forget about our conversation as soon as you open your eyes. Got it?"
"Yes," Juliette confirmed.
"I count to three. One, two, three," Daniel said in a steady voice.
The woman dutifully went to the chair, sat down and closed her eyes. A man threw a sympathetic glance at her, "Hmm, baby today is not a lucky day for you. You messed with the wrong people," Daniel grinned and went out of the dressing room.
Going forward, he saw a familiar silhouette. The man was standing thoughtfully, leaning on the wall.
"It seems that the knight in shining armor was a little late. The dragon took your little bird about ten minutes ago back to its lair, and it is unlikely that he will be happy to see you," Daniel said sarcastically seeing his brother"s screw face.
"As I understand it, you just left the dressing room of the host. I guess you settled everything down properly?" David asked him.
"Do not worry; your elder brother has done everything in the best possible way. She will no longer cause problems for others. But as for you... it looks like someone is trying to interfere with your plans. Well, I thought I"d mention it. The rest is up to you," Daniel answered accidentally on purpose.
"Thanks."
"You shouldn"t thank me," Daniel thought to himself and grinned. This situation has played into his hands even more than he imagined.
He looked at the younger brother"s serious face, sighed contentedly, and he and David left the television building.
. . .
Elena was sitting in the office of her father and did not know how to start a conversation. From the moment the show ended, her father did not utter a word. He did not even look in her direction when they left the studio and got into the car. His silence depressed the girl with every second.
"Dad, about those photos...," Elena said timidly, but her speech was immediately interrupted by her father who slammed his fist on the table.
Chen Lee kept silence and was angrily looking at his daughter. She froze, and everything shrank from fear inside her. He had never looked at her with such eyes.
"Elena, did I ask you not to get close with this young man?" He asked sternly.
"Yes," the girl replied and lowered her head.
"That evening you told me that you were going for a run, but you ended up going to him, didn"t you?!"
"Dad, it all happened by accident. I really was in the park, I had a run there. David saw me at the cafe and walked over himself," Elena tried to justify herself, but it made no sense.
"Dad, listen, David wanted to meet with you today and discuss everything. We wanted to ask you for permission for our relationship. He wanted to settle the misunderstanding that arose because of the situation with the doc.u.ments..."
"SCREW THE DOc.u.mENTS! AND SCREW MISUNDERSTANDING!" President Lee exploded and shouted at his daughter.
"I told you that you don"t know anything! I asked you not to deal with this man! And you!" He took a deep breath, and then uttered in a voice full of sorrow,
"Elena, they killed Liu Yang and Jun, and you want me to endorse your relationship with David after that?!"
"W-what? What are you saying... How is...," Elena froze in shock at what she heard.
These names were almost never spoken about in their home, but she knew perfectly well who these names belonged to.
"Elena, sixteen years ago, David"s father mercilessly killed my family by setting up a car accident. And you want me to let his son have fun with my daughter? NEVER IN MY LIFE!"