Thanks to Thomas'' massive influence, the buzz lingered for days. Yvonne kept her head down and focused on work. Fortunately, the film was heavy on action, with very few romantic scenes.


    One afternoon, during a break from filming, she got a call from Sandra.


    "They got Peter," Sandra said, her voice tense. "He snuck into Marina''s room and tried to pull her oxygen mask off. The bodyguards you hired caught him red-handed. We have it all on camera. Attempted murder. He''s not getting out of this one."


    Their n had worked. George, paranoid that Marina would wake up and expose him, had sent his right-hand man, Peter, to silence her for good. Peter, the CFO of Nexus Media, was now in custody, denied bail. If he talked, George would be next.


    At his office, George smashed everything within reach. “Useless fool!” he roared.


    "Chairman Spencer, it wasn''t entirely Mr. Zade''s fault," his assistant stammered. "I''ve looked into it. It was a trap set by Ms. Jones."


    George''s face turned purple with rage. He had never liked Yvonne, but he had been reluctant to harm his own flesh and blood. Now, the bitch had pushed him too far. It was time she learned what happened to those who crossed him.


    "Yvonne is on a film set, isn''t she?" he said, his voice dropping to a low snarl. "Find some capable men..."


    ...


    Yvonne wrapped her scenes early that day. Back at her hotel, she was looking forward to an early night when she ran into Bet in the hallway He was on his way to see Thomas, a file in his hand. They met face-to-face.


    "Mr. Thompson," she said with a polite nod.


    He looked up, his dark eyes unreadable as they swept over her. "Mm," he grunted.


    They passed each other. As Yvonne unlocked her door, she couldn''t resist a nce back, but he had already disappeared into an elevator.


    She showered and was about to get into bed when a shrill rm red through the room. The fire rm. She opened her door to a hallway filled with smoke: Panicked quests were rushing out of their rooms.


    "Fire! Fire!" someone yelled.


    A hotel staff member was trying to direct the chaos. "The emergency exit is to the right! Please remain calm and proceed in an orderly fashion! But his words were lost in the panic.