The Woman From Hell

Having said that, she packed up all sorts of snacks and fruits for me, as well as a thermos full of soup.

I could not refuse, so I took everything. It would make a pretty good lunch, at least.

Upon arriving at the office, Heidi reported that preliminary work was underway. The celebrities were all staying in the hotel and the director was giving them their final instructions.

The first filming location was to be indoors, inside a shopping mall. To not disrupt the mall's shops, the filming had been set to begin tomorrow night.

Everyone was doing their own job, and there was nothing much I could help with. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Wanda..." Heidi did not leave after she finished reporting on work. She hesitated to continue.

"Is there something difficult you want to say to me?" Seeing her reluctance, I had no choice but to prod her o nit.

"Oh, no..." Heidi immediately waved her hands. "It's about work... Sigh, well, Newlight Media said that Sandy has to be the spokesperson, no matter what competition you decide to hold, or..." "Or what?" I was curious. Newlight Media's boss had

not been this stubborn when we had spoken previously. It had only been a few days, but he was already getting so pushy.

Heidi bowed her head, not saying a word.

"Speak!" I raised my voice.

"...Or they will make Grant Corporations face the consequences!" After a pause, she continued, "I think they're just trying to intimidate us. I didn’t want to tell you this at first because your body isn't capable of handling any more pressure at the minute, but I was also really worried."

"Alright, I understand. You can go now."

After Heidi left, I sank into my thoughts. It looked like Newlight Media's backer was threatening me with Grant Corporation. Why had they not directly approached Theo, though?

Although I had no idea how Theo would react to learning about this, after recalling what Xander had said the last time, I did not want to put him in such a difficult position.

Considering Newlight Media's attitude, landing an endorsement was probably not the only thing they wanted. There had to be an even bigger scheme behind this.

Perhaps the endorsement was just a trick, a reason for them to target Grant Corporation.

I had to take Grant Corporation seriously. Even if it was just for my grandmother’s sake, I had to think of a way to solve this problem and not let them use this as an excuse to give Grant Corporation trouble.

The most important thing right now was to find the backer behind Newlight Media. After thinking about it for a very long time, I pulled out my phone and swiped to a number I had never taken the initiative to call. With trembling hands, I pressed the call button.

The call connected after only one ring, and a ghostly hell-like came over the line. "Six years, one month, and three days. You finally called."

His voice was low and deep. The voice on the line was cold and menacing.

My heart skipped a beat. My hands trembled slightly a s I held the phone. After a very long time, I suppressed the fear in my heart and said, "I want to know who the backer behind Newlight Media is."

There was no response from the other end, save for heavy breathing. Soon, there was the sound of a lighter flickering. "You haven't said who I am yet, Wandy."

The uncontrollable trembling spread from just my hands to the rest of my body. The unease in my heart was spreading to the rest of me, too. I exhaled lightly." Tyler!"

I had not called out that name for years.

"Wrong. Start again." He sounded quite patient as he slowly spoke each word.

Even though he was only being transmitted through a n earpiece, I could still sense his cold and menacing aura penetrating into the very core of my bones.

This coldness was nothing like Theo’s aloofness. It was a bloody kind of coldness that seemed to come straight from hell. A horrifying and maniacal coldness.

My body was shaking violently. I held my phone with both hands and said in a trembling voice, "Brother.” M y voice was almost inaudible.

He still heard it, though. He responded by letting out a maniacal laugh.

I could not stand it anymore. I hung up the call abruptly and tossed my phone away. It felt like he was going to crawl through the line and reach me from over the phone.

My body was completely frozen. I stood up and turned the heater to a warm setting, all the way up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. I crashed onto the couch and curled into a ball, unable to come back to my senses for a very long time.

It was a fear that had been engraved into my bones ever since I was a toddler. I should not have made that call.