Chapter 735 - Dazed

"Alright, I'll check again." Xiao Ye pointed to the thick stack of clippings on the table. "How do you want to handle these?"

"Of course, we need to reveal what we've discovered. Collusion, insurance fraud, premeditation... don't you think these are things the public would like to know? Even for the upcoming movie, we can't just keep this to ourselves, right?" 

Xiao Ye blinked, "But we don't have concrete evidence yet. What if it's just a coincidence, or the perpetrator conducted the investigation?"

Laila smiled meaningfully, "Do you think it matters?"

"..." Apparently, it didn't matter. Xiao Ye felt like he asked a foolish question. Did the media care about ethics when there were benefits involved? The more sensational, the more they loved it.

"You win. Hopefully, it works." Well, since he was eating with her, he naturally had to stand on the boss's side.

After Xiao Ye left, Laila called Anthony and asked for a favor to steer the public opinion back on track.

Unlike Xiao Ye, who needed a reminder to understand, Anthony knew what she wanted to do as soon as he heard her words. In the blink of an eye, he came up with many feasible solutions.

That night, NBC's news program featured a segment on the three arson cases.

It wasn't easy for the TV station's editors to gather so much material in such a short time. It included investigations into the three families, an understanding of the cases, and some speculative and suggestive remarks, leaving viewers puzzled about the truth of the incidents.

What exactly happened? Was it Laila's deranged fans reacting to the boycott of their idol, or was someone using her name to do something malicious? Or, as the news program suggested, was it possibly a conspiracy?

If it was a coincidence, it seemed too coincidental. How could it be that all three families were not at home, and there happened to be no surveillance systems nearby? With these coincidences combined, would anyone believe there was no foul play involved?

Many articles that were originally planned to criticize Laila the next morning were hastily replaced.

Raising the topic after the program aired would likely be seen as a joke. Although smearing Laila could attract readers' attention, mindlessly attacking might have the opposite effect.

Seeing the swift change in public opinion on the internet, Louise finally felt relieved.

However, on the other side, someone was being scolded mercilessly because of this.

"I gave you a task, and this is what you did?!" Faaris threw several newspapers onto Cooper, "Look at what's written here!"

Cooper didn't need to look to know what kind of reports they were. Since last night when he watched NBC's program, he had guessed that Laila had won again this time.

But could he be blamed?

He had been in the film industry for decades, and the most unethical thing he did was launch relentless attacks on Phoenix Films without any scruples. But the new boss was different. As soon as she spoke, she asked him to hire someone to do dirty work on those who resisted.

Faaris seemed to have become accustomed to giving him orders over these two years or maybe had forgotten their original intention, treating him as his henchman and even handing over such a terrible task.

When he first received the task, Cooper's first reaction was fear. His courage wasn't as great as he thought. He dared to take action against the Phoenix Films because he knew Reynolds and Louise had no way to deal with him.

Later, he dared to confront Laila directly, confident that the Moran family wouldn't act against him for such a trivial matter. Even though he was a bit reckless later, he still firmly believed that his safety wasn't something to worry about. That's why he did those things.

However, when he was ordered to do something illegal, something that could attract public attention, it really tested his heart.

His first thought was to refuse, but unfortunately, his tactful refusal was heard by Faaris as "not enough money." For him, there was no problem with any amount. If one million wasn't enough, then ten million. If ten million wasn't enough, make it twenty million.

Finally, when the money poured in, Cooper's eyes were filled with stars, and he agreed in a daze. However, when he regained his clarity, he felt weak in his legs and had the urge to run away.

According to Faaris's request, he was to cause trouble for the people resisting the movie. The trouble had to attract a lot of attention, whether by stabbing, shooting or simply getting a madman to rush into the crowd. As long as this murderer implicated the crimes with Laila and her movie, their mission would be considered a success.

The task seemed simple, and it could indeed be handled quite easily. With a million, he could find someone willing to do it, and there would be many willing candidates among those resisting the movie.

However, Cooper couldn't do it. Firstly, he didn't dare to hire those people. Secondly, among the crowd resisting the movie, the leading figures were the ones he had brought in, specifically to undermine Laila.

Caught in a dilemma, his quick-witted brain quickly found a compromise—a collaboration.

He selected three people, gave them a large sum of money, and asked them to cooperate with him. Then he found someone to burn down the houses after confirming that no one was inside.

Like Xiao Ye speculated, he didn't want any casualties. It would only draw more attention if their actions resulted in casualties, making it a case that the police would focus on.

So it ended up in its current dubious state.

It could only be said that Cooper was too unfamiliar with this "business" and lacked the courage. If he were more ruthless, he could directly set fire to those people's houses, making them look more authentic. But he happened to be softhearted. Before the incident happened, he communicated with the three families, resulting in Laila finding so many "coincidences."

Although the three families received a huge sum from Cooper and would also receive compensation from the insurance company, anyone facing the imminent destruction of their home would feel regret for things they wanted to keep—memorable photos, relics, or valuable items and savings.

Even if Laila didn't find any problems, as long as the police investigated this aspect a little, they would eventually find loopholes.