The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 296: Going Crazy]

In Santa Monica, 20th Street.

Hawke's rented villa was brightly lit; Campos and Edward were both seated in the study.

The audio recording sent over by Carlos and Garcia had just concluded.

Hawke recalled some details about Britney, a few salacious scandals.

Like a madman at one point, Britney shaved her head, smashed cars, and even attacked people with an umbrella.

Hawke remembered a report wherein Jamie Spears had allegedly used a hospital diagnosis to sue and gain special guardianship, completely controlling Britney's career and life.

Rumor had it that they even implanted something in her.

As for what that was for, Hawke wasn't sure.

Coming from Compton, a city notorious for crime, Edward appeared shocked. "Jamie Spears doesn't see Britney as his daughter; he's just using her as a cash cow."

Campos added, "I've met some of the most ruthless drug lords and murderers in Mexico, and they have more morals than this bastard -- this is his own flesh and blood."

Edward turned to Hawke, saying, "Boss, this seems straightforward. As long as Twitter exposes this..."

"No, we'd better steer clear of this," Hawke mused. "If it's just to expose Manninger, leaking this won't necessarily trigger any consequences from Fox. Over the years, several executives from Fox have had their careers crumble from exposure. But this issue involves the competition for the channel's director position; if Twitter recklessly interferes in Fox's internal affairs, it might not be a good move."

Campos asked, "Expose it to other media?"

Hawke didn't answer immediately but extracted materials Megan Taylor had delivered earlier that day.

There were two parts: one was about Manninger Jenkins and the other about Renee Russell.

Hawke pulled out Renee Russell's materials. "This woman is Manninger's direct competitor, and she occupied the vice-director role earlier than Megan, and their conflicts are much deeper than with Megan."

Having already reviewed the materials, Campos conveyed, "Unlike Manninger, Renee also acts as producer and host for the 7 PM news. Can we sell the recordings, photos, and Fiona's footage through her news segment as freelance journalists?"

Edward said, "That seems doable."

Hawke agreed. "That'd be one route, but we'd need to find a suitable opportunity. Renee's in contention for the Director's position at Channel 11 following Megan's temporary illness. If she suspects Manninger, it increases the chances that she'll leak the story."

He thought for a moment and continued, "The key to this matter is how Jamie and Britney's father-daughter relationship evolves. We subtly push the matter along to amplify the situation and force Renee's hand to make a choice."

Campos was on board. "Manninger is a veteran at Channel 11 and will undoubtedly retaliate."

"There's a prerequisite," Hawke recalled another key factor, "Megan has to present a vulnerable front and must get Cynthia's support."

In this incident, Megan was the first to stumble.

No matter where the issue of her stomach pain and nausea arose, let's just assume she was ill for now.

...

Hawke reached for his phone, dialed Megan. When she picked up, he said, "Tomorrow, release a statement that you've been transferred to St. Gabriel Hospital in Orange County due to serious symptoms."

Megan didn't question the reasoning and trusted Hawke entirely, "I'll go do it right now."

Hawke added, "You need to coordinate with the doctors and Cynthia; the attending physician's cooperation and Cynthia's endorsement are crucial."

"That won't be a problem with the doctors; money takes care of it," Megan answered. "Cynthia's health isn't looking good either; she may not hold out for long. Her biggest wish lies with her daughter, and I'm figuring out how to connect her with her daughter."

Hawke asked, "What's the situation with her daughter?"

Megan had done thorough research: "She's studying film production at USC and preparing for an internship. I was thinking of recommending her for a crew position at 20th Century Fox."

Hawke cut in decisively, "You should tell Cynthia her daughter can intern as a production manager on Tom Cruise's set."

Cynthia's connections were mainly in media.

Megan replied, "I'll contact Cynthia right away."

Hawke ended the call.

...

Campos asked, "What about Britney's situation?"

Edward looked troubled. "Although Britney broke up with Justin Timberlake, they're not married, and there are no kids; it's not really in my area of expertise."

Hawke had considered this issue already, saying, "In LA, Britney's best friend is Paris Hilton. Paris has previously reached out to me, hoping I could help Britney out of her predicament."

Edward noted, "For Britney's sake, Paris fired her assistant, Kim Kardashian, who had been with her for years."

Hawke stated, "For this matter, Paris makes for an ideal intermediary."

After discussions, Campos left first, and after Hawke dialed Paris Hilton, they arranged to meet the next day, and Edward also took his leave.

...

The following morning, Paris quietly arrived at Twitter and entered the meeting room.

Hawke pulled out his laptop and slid it across the table to Paris: "This is the story Twitter acquired last night, involving your friend Britney, but it hasn't been released yet."

"What's going on?" Paris asked, seeing the audio player paused and hitting the space bar.

The initial recording played Larry Rudolph's conversation with Jamie Spears.

Though slightly shocked, Paris wasn't entirely surprised. As Britney's closest confidante, she was familiar with Jamie Spears to an extent.

However, the subsequent remarks made by Manninger and Jamie Spears completely blew Paris away.

This was not something a father would say.

Paris looked alarmed, gazing at Hawke, "Jamie is going to ruin Britney!"

"This man has no limits," Hawke said. "If he succeeds, Britney would be completely under his control, and your friendship with Britney could be severed."

Paris had learned a lot in the last half-year, quickly stating, "Once Jamie controls Britney, he would inevitably create rifts between us."

Hawke noted, "Certain drugs can completely destroy a person's will; according to media reports, Britney isn't a strong-willed person."

Paris fell silent, even if she wasn't the sharpest, she could imagine what Britney might face.

She remarked, "Let's expose this! I'll go meet Britney to show her her father's true face!"

"Exposing is simple, but making Britney believe her father is trying to harm her is another story," Hawke responded, speaking the truth: "There have been countless media attacks on Jamie for deceiving Britney over the years. What's the outcome? Jamie remains Britney's most trusted person; they're father and daughter -- naturally, they'd trust each other the most."

He looked at Paris, "If a report came out claiming your father harmed you, would you believe it?"

Paris retorted, "I believe the media is talking nonsense!"

Hawke continued, "The media has produced so many rumors about Britney; I can't even keep count. Jamie could just say it's all falsehoods. Who would Britney believe? You or her father?"

Paris didn't have to think hard; she gave a clear answer, "She'd believe her father."

Hawke's hints became increasingly obvious.

Paris finally realized, "Does this mean I should wait until Britney has been hurt by Jamie before finding a suitable moment to approach her? That way, she might trust me more."

"I've been doing strategic planning in LA for nearly two years, handling many complex requests," Hawke observed Paris. "You can never teach someone a thing in your lifetime, but you can teach someone once."

This remark reminded Paris of her past, a time she hadn't used her brain much.

It was precisely the tape incident that had driven her to change, opening the doors to her current career, leading her to think critically.

"You're right; Britney should learn a profound lesson." Paris agreed with Hawke and asked, "What should we do?"

Hawke quickly laid out the plan.

Paris listened intently, raising questions in areas she found intriguing.

Interactions between people are curious; if someone close to you is struggling, you feel compelled to lend a hand.

But if they're thriving, the perspective shifts entirely.

...

Burbank, South Buena Vista Street.

This area housed the headquarters for Disney, Disney Studios, ABC, and many other entertainment media companies, making celebrity sightings even more common than in Beverly Hills.

Many entertainment reporters and paparazzi often roamed the streets.

Aiden, a special correspondent for the National Herald, originally stationed outside Disney Studios, decided to walk to a nearby studio as too many of his peers gathered around.

A black Mercedes suddenly halted by the roadside, and the female assistant in the passenger seat stepped out and opened the rear door.

Aiden recognized the car and whipped out his camera.

Britney hopped out, waving at Jamie inside as she headed toward the studio.

...

After the Mercedes pulled away, it didn't go far before Jamie ordered the driver to stop.

He lowered the car window slightly, twisting the water bottle in his hand, eyeing Britney.

Britney had already begun to feel restless in the car.

...

Aiden moved a bit closer, directing his lens toward Britney to capture her.

The flashbulbs going off felt blinding to Britney.

The clicking of shutters sounded like rusty steel scraping against one another, and she felt nauseous.

Bright sunshine beamed down upon the studio's glass door, and Britney felt like she was staring at a monster.

An overwhelming urge surged within her.

Britney tossed her handbag aside, sprinted toward the door, grabbed the sunshade propped up on one side, and began smashing it against the glass door!

The loud thunks grabbed the attention of many around.

Aiden snapped picture after picture, eager to capture as much exclusivity as possible before his peers arrived.

The assistant tried to intervene but was shoved aside by Britney.

Britney lifted the sunshade high and smashed it down forcefully, her thrusts were relentless.

Perhaps lucky in timing, the metallic tip of the sunshade shattered the fragile section of glass, sending shards raining to the ground.

Some shards even fell on Britney's head and body, but she was undeterred, moving on to smash another door.

*****

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