The Beauty and the Brain

Chapter 216

Get Bo

As Marie had not gotten a replacement phone, she used the phone at Glorious Estate to call Sasha.

The

phone rang persistently for a while before Sasha picked it up. She answered in a weak voice, “Hello?”

“Sasha. It’s me, Marie,” Marie said..

As soon as Marie identified herself, Sasha immediately asked, “Marie? Are you back?”

Sasha burst into tears when she heard Marie’s reply. She had been in the entertainment industry for a

long

time and was adept at controlling her emotions. Moreover, she was a very strong-willed person. Marie

had

known Sasha for many years and had never seen Sasha cry.

Yet the minute Sasha heard Marie’s voice, she had burst out crying.

Marie asked anxiously, “Sasha, are you in the apartment? I’ll go look for you.”

Sasha wept, “Yes, I’m in the apartment.”

Marie immediately changed her clothes and went downstairs to take a taxi to Sasha’s apartment. She

was aghast when she saw the state of Sasha’s apartment.

The place was in a mess, looking as if Sasha had just held a big party. The apartment was strewn with

wine bottles, paper cups, and takeaway boxes. Sasha had always been a disciplined person. Marie

wondered what had happened.

Sasha was not wearing any makeup, but she did not look like her normal self. Her face was pale. The

dark. circles under her eyes made her look haggard and tired. She was wearing a silk nightgown, and

her hair was disheveled. Furthermore, her body reeked of alcohol. She resembled a girl working in a

nightclub.

Momentarily stunned to see Marie, Sasha quickly threw herself into Marie’s arms and bawled her eyes

out. She wept incessantly but did not tell Marie what happened. She wore an expression of profound

indignation, her face etched with a sense of injustice.

After pacifying Sasha, Marie asked, “What happened? What happened between you and Darwin?”

Wiping away her tears, Sasha covered her forehead, and propped herself on her knees. Through

intermittent sniffles, she cried out, “It’s all because of me. I’ve caused trouble for everyone.”

Hearing that, Marie was even more confused. She was so worried that she pulled Sasha toward her.

“What happened because of you? Sasha, tell me. What’s wrong?”

After some stammering, Marie finally managed to get Sasha to relate what happened during her

absence.

It turned out that Sabrina did not have a boyfriend at all. The previous news was all made up so Marie

and everyone else could let their guard down against Sabrina. All along, Sabrina had been infatuated

with Darwin.

After Asher’s death, Marie also left home. Olive took the opportunity to control the Spence family’s

assets. In doing so, Olive Entertainment was also able to make a comeback. Although Shirley was no

longer around, Sabrina cleverly aligned herself with Olive.

Once, Sasha went out to get some fresh air after a fight with Darwin. Olive’s men kidnapped her and

sent a

video to Darwin, threatening to disfigure Sasha if he did not admit to having a relationship with

Sabrina.

Sasha was an actress, and she depended greatly on her looks in her career. Without hesitation, Darwin

gave

in to their demands and publicly announced his relationship with Sabrina on Twitter. Darwin thought

that after saving Sasha, he could clarify the matter with the video Olive’s men sent him. He did not

expect Olive to

be more scheming than he imagined.

When her men kidnapped Sasha, they had already stripped off her clothes and taken incriminating

photos. Olive threatened to publish the photos online if Darwin denied his relationship with Sabrina.

Hence, Darwin had been pretending to be Sabrina’s boyfriend all this while. He did not even dare to

call

Sasha. Sasha was also forced to give up her resources and connections in the entertainment industry

to

Sabrina and Olive.

They tried to ask Andres for help, but there was nothing Andres could do since Darwin had already

admitted

his relationship with Sabrina. Besides, Sabrina and Olive were blackmailing him with Sasha’s photos.

At the mention of Andres, Marie suddenly remembered Iliana. She took out her phone and looked at

the

news. She discovered that JCL, the new clothing store originally set up by Iliana, had been taken over

by

Shirley. The chief designer was also changed from Iliana to Nataly. Iliana had been kicked out of the

company.

Holding her phone, Marie asked, “What’s going on? Where’s Iliana?”

Sasha covered her face and whimpered, “It’s all because of me. Iliana got into trouble because of me.

As long.

as Olive has my photos, we have to do what she says. We cannot defy her.”

“What about Iliana? Where’s Iliana?” Marie was getting anxious. Iliana was not in good health.

Furthermore,

she had always been ostracized by the Tuttle family. Now that she lost her job, she would be subject to

more

acts of bullying from Shirley.

“Iliana is fine. Andres picked her up as soon as possible she got kicked out of the company. Andes

should be

taking care of her now,” Sasha said.

Marie heaved a sigh of relief. Everything was still in control as long as everyone was safe. No matter

how bad

a situation seemed, she believed that things would surely get better.

Marie comforted Sasha. “It’s okay. I’m back now. I’ll take care of it.”

Sasha covered her head and continued to wail, “It’s finished. There’s nothing we can do now. It’s all

because

of me, Marie. Things wouldn’t turn out this way if I hadn’t been willful.”

Marie hugged Sasha, consoling her, “Why should I blame you? Now that Olive has control of all the

assets of

the Spence Group, she will still hurt you, no matter what you do. Even if she can’t do anything to you,

she’ll

still be able to deal with Illana. If you have to blame someone, then blame me. I failed to notice

Sabrina’s

ambition back then. It’s also my fault for going missing for so many days. I left you all alone here to

deal with

this mess.”

Sasha immediately grabbed hold of Marie’s hand and said, “It’s not like that. Don’t say that, Marie. I

heard

from Andres that you and Mr. Whitney were in danger. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Get Bong

Marie rolled up her sleeves and showed Sasha her wounds. “The scars have healed. These are only

scabs. I’m

all right now.”

Sasha looked at Marie’s wounds anxiously. “Why are there so many scars? It must hurt badly.”

Marie smiled as she gave Sasha a hug. “Dennis and I are able to escape death even at gunpoint. Why

should! be afraid of Olive? Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I’ll get everything back in time to come.”

Sasha continued to sob but nodded. “Marie, our studio-”

“What’s wrong with the studio?” Marie asked.

“The studio will no longer be ours. The internet said that you are an adopted child of the Spence family.

You

have to return everything to them. Darwin was also forced to give up the company’s seal to Olive.”

Sasha

looked cautiously at Marie, fearful that she might get angry or upset at the news.

Marie sneered. “Olive, you’re such a vicious woman. Are you bent on taking everything away from

me?”

Sasha sat up straight. “Marie, we must never work for Olive. If she takes the studio away from us, we’ll

terminate the contract immediately!”

Marie looked at Sasha, feeling helpless. “Terminate the contract? Aren’t you afraid that she will

threaten you

with those incriminating photos?”

Sasha cowered back and did not say any further.

Sasha’s reaction was understandable. A woman’s reputation was very important. Besides, Sasha was

a famous international celebrity. If those photos were published, all her past efforts would have gone to

waste.

By then, no matter how capable Marie was, she would not be able to save Sasha’s reputation.

After comforting Sasha, Marie looked at the news again. For the last few days, the paid social media

accounts had been spreading the news that Marie was the adopted daughter of the Spence family.

They accused Marie of using the influence the Spence family had admonished her but to no avail. They

also said that Marie caused Asher to be seriously ill and that he had to be hospitalized. They even went

as far as to insinuate that Marie had something to do with Asher’s death.

Olive had also publicly said that although Marie’s surname was Spence, she was regarded the same

as the Spence family. It was not difficult for one to deduce that she meant that Marie did not belong to

the Spence family.

Suddenly, Marie recalled how Asher held on to her before he died. He kept saying that her mother was

a good person and even mentioned a safe. Marie only knew about one safe, and it was kept in Asher’s

study.

She wondered, “Does this mean that Grandpa left something for me in the safe? Perhaps it’s got

something to do with my mother.”