raknovel Chapter 60 Larry vs. Evelyn
Chapter 60 Larry vs. Evelyn
The next morning, Evelyn, who hadn't slept all night, had bloodshot eyes and a haggard face, but she still couldn't hide the anger in her heart.
She arrived in Casablanca early in the morning and threw a tantrum. The receptionist didn't dare to stop her and could only hurriedly take her to Larry Harris's office as instructed.
Evelyn had barely sat down in her chair when she couldn't wait to threaten him:
"That Zeke Rossi you Casablanca fans are promoting, he kidnapped my underage daughter Judy last night! If I don't get a satisfactory explanation, Variety will have his tabloid story about him abducting a minor tomorrow, and not only will he be ruined, but you'll all be implicated!"
Larry propped his legs up on the desk, leaned back in his chair, and leisurely flipped through a page of the newspaper in his hand without even lifting his eyelids.
"I am Larry Harris, Executive Vice President of Casablanca. Madam, you need to provide evidence before you speak. If you can't produce any evidence, your accusations are enough for us to sue you for defamation, and you will be the one who suffers the consequences."
"Evidence? I have evidence!" Evelyn exclaimed, her face flushed. "She attended your Casablanca party last night! Hundreds of people must have seen her there. You can't escape now!"
"Oh?" Larry put down his newspaper and looked up at her. "You mean, you want all the guests Neil Bogart and Peter Cooper invited last night to go to the police station to give statements because of your baseless accusations?"
"Here's a suggestion: if you're so determined to leave Hollywood and never make it again, why force your underage daughter to take those nude 'art photos'?"
Evelyn was taken aback, her face instantly turning bright red, and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes.
She hadn't expected Larry to know about this, and for a moment she didn't know how to refute him.
After a long pause, she forced herself to remain calm and said sternly:
"How I discipline my daughter is none of your business! I'm going to the reporters right now and tell them that Casablanca condones the kidnapping and rape of my underage daughter by its artists. I'll ruin your reputations!"
"Suit yourself." Larry shrugged, looking nonchalant. "Anyway, it's not my daughter's reputation that's being ruined. If this gets out of hand, people will just be curious about what kind of mother would force her underage daughter to take those kinds of photos."
"Don't think I can't do anything to you! I'm not without connections!" Evelyn trembled with rage, threatening, "Just you wait, I'll put him in jail, and I'll ruin that kid's reputation, and the reputation of Casablanca!"
Larry was immediately amused by these words. He lazily unscrewed the cap of the diaphoretic, poured out two pills and played with them in his palm. His gleeful appearance was just like that of a mischievous child who had just succeeded in a prank and watched his prey fall into a trap.
"Don't try to amuse me, Evelyn. You might know Hollywood, but you really don't know the recording industry. Let me tell you the truth, Zeke is a musician we at Casablanca have high hopes for. Internally, we see him as the future Elvis, a singer-songwriter Elvis! How do you plan to ruin him and us?"
"Elvis and Priscilla, Jerry Lee Lewis and his 13-year-old cousin, David Bowie and Lori Maddox, and who else... let me think... Oh right, Steven Taylor and Julia Holcomb, and Sabur Starr, she was a favorite of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones~"
Larry tilted his head back, swallowed the pill, tossed the bottle in his hand, caught it again, and recounted it as if it were a treasure trove of knowledge.
"You want me to keep listing names? Don't you know these names? You can always ask a lawyer who knows the music industry. Are you going to call the police and have these people arrested? Don't be ridiculous."
"There are plenty of girls like this in Los Angeles. Times have changed. Open your eyes and wander around Sunset Boulevard. E Club, Rainbow Bar & Grill, Whisky a Go Go, Riot House... Baby Groupies flock to these places every night."
"At Judy's age, if she's not with Zeke, she's with an older, dirtier, more powerful guy. Do you think that's better?"
"Zick is Judy's classmate, they're about the same age, and this is a million times cleaner than what those big stars do."
"If you dare to slander Zik as a rapist, you will only be ridiculed by the entire industry, ridiculed as a witch who has gone completely mad in her attempt to control her daughter."
"Besides, when this scandal breaks, do you think the public's first reaction will be to condemn Zeke, or to dig up how you disciplined your daughter? Or... to expose your dirty deeds of forcing her to take nude photos to make her famous?"
These words infuriated Evelyn, yet she was powerless to refute them. Her face turned pale, her lips trembled, and the shame and helplessness of having her secret exposed almost consumed her.
She abruptly raised her head, staring intently at Larry, and almost shouted:
"You bastard! My daughter isn't flesh and blood!"
After saying that, Evelyn clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh. In the end, she could only snort coldly, get up angrily, and slam the door shut as she left.
Even after leaving Casablanca, Evelyn remained relentless. She drove directly to the office of the sheriff she had contacted the previous night, demanding that he take her to see the West Los Angeles precinct chief and request an immediate search warrant to search the party venue and the Casablanca office building, determined to find Judy.
After hearing her request, the branch chief looked troubled. He remained silent for a moment, then picked up a gold-embossed invitation from the table and handed it to Evelyn:
"Evelyn, take a look at this. In two weeks, on February 22nd, Neil and Joyce Bogart are hosting a fundraising party for Governor Jerry Brown at their home in Homeby Hill."
"This dinner cost $2500 per person and required formal attire. Its purpose was to campaign for Governor Brown's 1980 presidential campaign. The attendees were all celebrities, politicians, and business tycoons from Los Angeles."
"You want me," the chief said, poking his chest with his index finger and then flicking his thumb toward Homeby Hill, "to lead a search of that house? Just because your daughter didn't come home on time?"
"Do you know that if I send a police car to Homeby Hill, even just to ask one question, Governor Brown's campaign team will call the mayor's office tomorrow, and the mayor will call me to ask if I want to quit?"
The bureau chief leaned back in his chair, spread his hands, and made a helpless expression:
"As for Casablanca... Evelyn, that's a big shot in Los Angeles. Neil Bogart and Peter Cooper, either one could make me, the bureau chief, lose my job, or make it so you can't even find a secretary job in Hollywood. You're a smart woman, don't go crazy at a time like this."
“Listen, Judy is a good girl. She must have spent the night at a friend’s. This is a family matter; don’t turn it into a criminal case.” He pointed to the door, signaling him to leave. “If you insist on a search warrant, I can only detain you for ‘false police report’ and ‘obstruction of official business.’ Then you won’t only be unable to find your daughter, but you’ll also have to hire a lawyer.”