Chapter 413: Selling Assets

The following morning, Martin wearily descended the stairs at the hotel. He stepped outside and entered the car, driven by Bruce. Settling into the plush seat, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Bruce cut right to the point, "You can't even handle it with just the two of them, can you?"

Martin raised two fingers, emphasizing, "They're two women over 30, and one's more aggressive than the other."

Seeing that Bruce was about to mock him, Martin played his trump card, "When Kim and Khloe hit 30, and you can have them together, you'll understand." Bruce, the cheeky guy, fell silent.

Martin's eyes widened as if he had witnessed something unbelievable, "No way, you've been involved with them?"

Bruce continued to keep silent, clearly wanting to avoid Martin, who only knew how to throw punches.

Martin shook his head, "Sisters."

"That's enough," Bruce changed the subject abruptly, "Ivan encouraged Judy from TMZ, and together they convinced the victims' lawyers. Those who hadn't settled yet cited the immense mental pressure and injuries from the past year to double the compensation."

Martin nodded and mentioned, "I heard that Brad Pitt has several illegitimate children."

Jenifer Aniston would dig up more, thought Bruce.

Bruce, surprised at first, then understood, "Jennifer Aniston said that?"

Martin nodded gently, glanced at the time, and said, "Let's head to the studio. We'll train as usual today."

Bruce thought to himself that creatures like his ex-wife are truly terrifying. The best way to avoid getting entangled with your ex-wife? Bruce's quick thought: Don't get married!

The crew had initially used the codename "Dog," but after another conference call, it was officially changed to "John Wick."

This was the title of the film in the past. The name retained the simplicity, naming it after the male protagonist, "John Wick." This naming convention is a common practice in Hollywood, where the protagonist's name is often used as the movie title, such as Forrest Gump.

Martin, Chad, and Lois all favored "John Wick," finding it more appealing than simply naming the movie after the main character.

---

The most recent out-of-court mediation in the Los Angeles District Court ended in another failure.

Camille, the victims' attorney, was the first to exit the mediation room.

Calderon, the senior mediator, looked at Peter and his attorney and advised, "The longer this drags on, the worse it'll be for you."

Attorney Brat shook hands with Calderon, stating, "We'll resolve it as quickly as possible."

Peter also rose and shook hands with Calderon, then left the mediation room and headed for the parking lot. Brat followed while speaking on the phone.

"Somebody's targeting you; you should consider settling with these women as soon as possible." He hung up the call and cautioned Brad Pitt, "The law firm just informed me that letters from Breitling and Cadillac have been sent to me."

Brad Pitt fumed, "These greedy individuals, they only care about their own interests and couldn't care less about the lives of others."

Brat advised, "You should consider discussing this with them..."

As they entered the parking lot, a bus pulled up, and a dozen women disembarked, representing various races, white, black, Latin, Asian, mixed raced, and more.

They pointed fingers at Brad Pitt, shouting, "Murderer!"

"Rapist!"

"Disgraced man!"

"Boo This Man"

As they hurled insults, six or seven reporters captured the scene with their cameras.

Peter's face turned ashen, and he began to speak, but Bratt hurriedly pulled him away, urging, "Don't say anything more; let's go."

But it was too late.

Three women, each holding children of various ages, emerged from behind a car and blocked Brad Pitt's path.

One of the blond women set a little girl down and said, "Call him Daddy, call for Daddy quickly. That's your Daddy."

Peter stood there, stunned for a moment.

The little girl sweetly cried out, "Daddy." Among them, a black woman slapped the black child on the head, scolding, "You foolish child, call your Daddy quickly."

Another woman held a child who was barely three years old, her eyes teary as she looked at Brad Pitt said, "This is your child, Brad. Take a look."

Brat urged Brad Pitt to ignore them and swiftly led him towards the space between two cars. "Ignore them, don't respond, let's leave."

But a shout came from behind, "Brad, she's your child!"

"Face your responsibilities as a father!"

"Hurry, catch up with your dad!"

The eldest child finally caught up from behind, leaving Brad Pitt startled. He hastily jumped into the car and locked the doors securely, too overwhelmed to confront a child of six or seven.

As Brat entered the car, he told brad Pitt to remember, whether it's true or false, treat them all as false."

Brad Pitt nodded vigorously, "Of course."

Brat inquired, "You've taken precautions before, right?"

Peter hesitated, then shook his head, "Many times, it's often happen spontaneously."

"Damn it!" Brat cursed, feeling like he was facing one of the most challenging situations in his career. A lawsuit was looming.

Brad Pitt got into the car, but the reporters weren't ready to let him go. The three mothers with their children became the center of attention.

TMZ's Judy stepped forward, pointing at the children and inquired, "Can you explain what's going on?"

She asked this to give the women an opportunity to speak without restrictions.

The blond woman among them held her child and sobbed, "This child is Brad Pitt's and mine. We had intimate relations numerous times. When I got pregnant, I believed Brad Pitt's promises. To avoid harming him, I took our child to Canada."

She cried, "As a single mother, it's incredibly challenging to raise this child. To secure a better future and education, I had no choice but to find the child's father. Once Brad Pitt acknowledges the child, I'll leave Los Angeles without causing any trouble."

Judy wiped her tears, saying, "You're a strong mother."

The blond woman even produced a token given to her by Brad Pitt, showing it to the cameras. "This is what Brad Pitt gave me when I was pregnant. It's autographed by him."

Judy signaled her assistant to film it with a camera. Even if Jennifer Aniston had discarded many similar items, with a careful eye, a few could always be found.

The assistant snapped a picture and said, "Boss, I recognize this. Brad Pitt wore it while filming the heist and kidnapping scene. It's the same one." Right beside them, another reporter from a different media outlet captured it on camera from another angle.

Security guards finally arrived, clearing a path for Brad Pitt's car to make a hasty exit.

While other reporters still surrounded the three mothers and the supposed illegitimate son, Judy's thoughts went a step further.

It was not uncommon in Hollywood and among celebrities for women to approach and claim that their children were fathered by someone famous. The Bastard Trio's Jack Nicholson had faced a similar situation multiple times, which had ended with an out-of-court settlement to avoid a full-blown legal battle.

The real attention here was not how many illegitimate children Brad Pitt might have but rather how these children were genuinely connected to him.

It didn't even matter if the claims were true or not. With the usual behavior of Hollywood stars, and considering that the legal process had not yet reached a stage of confirmation, even Pitt himself might not be sure whether the allegations held any truth.

Ivan approached with a handheld camera, asking, "Are you leaving?"

Judy snapped back to attention and inquired, "What's your plan?"

Ivan had a strategy in mind and responded, "We're going to interview Brad Pitt's ex-wife Anne, as well as Brad Pitt's ex-girlfriends and others. I believe they might know whether Brad Pitt has any illegitimate children."

Judy smacked her forehead, "How could I forget Jenifer Aniston and the others? Let's go! Hurry, we need to be the first. Everyone else is ahead of us."

That afternoon, the video interview with Aniston appeared on the TMZ homepage, right next to the news about Brad Pitt.

"I believe that a man should possess a fundamental sense of responsibility. Making mistakes is not the end of the world, but actively facing and taking responsibility is crucial. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this in brad Pitt's been over a year since the incident, there are still many victims who haven't received a fair and just resolution. They continue to suffer various harms this year..."

As the influential figurehead of Mi Rabbit, Aniston's words carried significant weight. She also touched on the topic of the alleged illegitimate child.

She alluded, "Brad Pitt and I shared a marriage, and many things occurred during that time. I tolerated a lot, including our divorce. Even if he assigned blame solely to me, I chose patience and silence. As for the matter of the alleged illegitimate child, you might want to ask him directly."

Though she didn't explicitly confirm it, the viewers of the news video concluded that Brad Pitt was indeed involved.

Angelina Jolie, another prominent opinion leader, was also interviewed. She put it in her characteristic straightforward manner: "Why did I split with Brad Pitt? The reason is straightforward! Regardless of what transpired, children should not be harmed."

Following the announcements from Breitling and Cadillac about suing Brad Pitt for breach of contract and seeking his related liabilities, the three mothers enlisted Camille as their attorney to file a lawsuit against Brad Pitt in a Los Angeles court, seeking various financial compensations.

Remarkably, Brad Pitt's ex-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow saw the significance of this movement and proactively joined the momentum.

"Why did I choose to end things with Brad Pitt? It's simple. I couldn't tolerate him. He cheated on me, subjected me to verbal abuse, and made threats," stated the strong-willed Paltrow. "When I learned about Brad Pitt having an alleged illegitimate child, I ended the relationship immediately. I didn't want to be with him for a second."

A new wave of public outrage and lawsuits against the embattled figure began.

Fueled by the victims and public opinion, the LAPD had no choice but to summon Brad Pitt once again.

Faced with the overwhelming tide of public opinion and a series of lawsuits, Brad Pitt no alternative but to first address the legal issues that might result in criminal liability.

Money was the most effective solution.

While Brad Pitt was indeed a wealthy individual, liquidity and wealth in assets were two different matters. A significant portion of his wealth was tied up in assets.

In a bid to access the dividends from Plan B, a board of directors primarily controlled by Aniston used justifiable pretexts to postpone last year's dividends until the year's end.

Brad Pitt had little recourse but to emulate many of his Hollywood predecessors and sell off fixed assets to raise the necessary funds.