Chapter 640 For Each Other's Good, She Must Stay Away
In the restroom, Phoebe was hunched over the sink, almost puking her guts out. She had cleaned the blood off her hands thoroughly, not even leaving a trace under her nails. It was like the warm blood from a few minutes ago was just a bad dream.
Phoebe stared at herself in the mirror, eyes all red and puffy. She never thought Theodore would jump in front of that knife for her.
Feeling all kinds of messed up, Phoebe splashed some cold water on her face. After a bit, she got her act together and left the restroom.
Instead of heading to the ER, she made her way to the side door.
Phoebe wasn't ungrateful. She was super thankful Theodore risked his life for her, but she knew she had to keep her distance for both their sakes.
Outside the side door, a bunch of entertainment reporters with cameras were waiting. As soon as they saw her, the shutters went crazy, and they bombarded her with questions. "Ms. Ziegler, any comments on Noah getting attacked by a crazy fan?"
"Ms. Ziegler, are you pressing charges against this fan?"
"Ms. Ziegler, we heard the guy who saved you is the president of Reynolds Group, your ex-boss. Why'd he do it?"
A bunch of bodyguards in black quickly surrounded Phoebe, blocking the reporters.
Phoebe gave the reporters a cold look and said calmly, "The artists in my company follow the law. We'll let the police handle this. Now, please move."
The shutters kept clicking, and the flashlights were killing her eyes.
The bodyguards hustled Phoebe into a nearby black sedan, which sped off. The reporters chased the car for a bit but had to give up.
Phoebe slumped in the back seat, exhausted, and pulled out her phone to scroll through Facebook.
Just as she thought, topics like Noah being hospitalized and Noah's crazy fan were trending. She didn't click on them; just seeing the tags was enough to know someone was stirring the pot. Phoebe exited Facebook and called her contact there.
The guy on the other end was a big shot at Facebook. After some small talk, Phoebe got to the point, asking to get Noah's negative trending topics taken down.
Of course, Facebook wouldn't do it for free. After some haggling, they agreed to remove today's trending topics for two million bucks.
Phoebe said, "Thanks. I'll treat you to a meal sometime."
"No need, but Phoebe, have you pissed someone off? Looks like someone's gunning for your artist. Be careful," Stanley Rogers said. Phoebe replied, "Got it. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll hang up now."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Phoebe lowered her arm and gently rubbed the edge of her phone case. Stanley was right; someone was definitely targeting Noah.
Otherwise, the news of Noah getting hurt and hospitalized wouldn't have blown up so fast, and both reporters and fans wouldn't have shown up. The crazy fan thing was clearly planned.
Phoebe pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking about the resources they'd recently snagged from Queen Entertainment. It wasn't hard to figure out who was behind this.
A cold smile crept onto Phoebe's lips. She hadn't even gone after Vanessa yet, but Vanessa was already throwing herself into the fire.
Since Vanessa was so eager to get burned, Phoebe would happily oblige!
After a bit, Phoebe's phone buzzed. She was a little surprised but answered, "Cindy?"
"I just got out of the airport and heard people talking about Noah getting hurt and some crazy fan attacking you at the hospital. What the heck happened?" Cindy's voice was all anxious, with sirens blaring in the background. Phoebe rubbed her temples, "I'm fine. Didn't get hurt."
"What exactly went down? Weren't there bodyguards with you? I just checked online, and the trending topics are gone." Cindy had been working as a makeup artist for a film crew for the past few months and had just wrapped up yesterday, so she was finally back.
"It's a long story. By the way, my clothes are covered in blood. I'm heading to your place to change before going home. Don't wanna freak out my mom," Phoebe said.
"Go ahead. I just left the airport. I'll meet you at Golden Apartment to see Hubert, Boris, and Noomi later," Cindy replied.
Phoebe hung up and told the driver to head to Cindy's neighborhood.
In the past couple of years, Cindy had made enough dough to sell her old place and buy a new one right next to Phoebe's house.
The security and property management in this high-end area were top-notch in all of Kedora. Cindy wasn't into villas; she liked high-rise apartments better, said they had a killer view.
The car rolled into Sunnyvale Gardens and got stopped by security at the entrance. After checking her ID, they let Phoebe in, and the car parked in front of the building.
Phoebe got out and was just stepping onto the stairs when she heard an engine roar behind her. Cindy's car pulled up and parked. Phoebe turned around and walked towards Cindy, who was wrestling two big suitcases out of the trunk. Phoebe grabbed one. Phoebe asked, "What's in here? Dumbbells?"
Cindy shot her a look, "Those are gifts for Hubert, Boris, and Noomi. I'll drop them off at Golden Apartment later."
Phoebe put the suitcase back in the trunk and said, "You bring them gifts every time you come back. You're gonna spoil them."
"A few gifts won't spoil them. They've got higher standards than that," Cindy retorted, then noticed the dried blood on Phoebe's clothes. She looked Phoebe up and down nervously, "Where's the blood from? You said you weren't hurt." "I'm not hurt. Someone else was," Phoebe said, feeling a bit helpless.
Good thing she didn't go home in these clothes. Her mom, Evelyn, would've freaked out and nagged her for weeks.
Cindy sighed in relief, "Thank goodness. Are fans really pulling knives now to chase their idols?"
"Someone was stirring the pot, causing trouble on purpose," Phoebe replied calmly.
Cindy locked the car and pushed the suitcase towards the elevator. As they walked, she asked, "Have you figured out who's behind it?"
"The attacker's at the police station. She looked nuts; we probably won't get much from her," Phoebe said. "But I've only been back for half a month. If someone's got a grudge and tried to off me in the chaos, it's gotta be an old beef." "Do you think it's Vanessa?" Cindy knew all about the bad blood between Phoebe and Vanessa. Phoebe had insisted on a divorce back then because Theodore chose to save Vanessa in a life-or-death situation, leaving her behind. Phoebe nodded, "Just a hunch, but no proof. We'll see if the cops can squeeze anything useful out of the attacker."