America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 770 - 763 Poisoning Incident

Ten minutes passed, and Director Villeneuve’s voice came through the electronic megaphone, "All departments, get ready to shoot."

In the resting area, after finishing the styling adjustments, the stylist glanced at Martin to make sure there were no issues and hurried off to the side.

Martin had changed into a gray sports jacket and come onto the set, sitting down on a worn and uncomfortable sofa.

Prop master Payne turned on the television, playing a recording of a hockey match.

Villeneuve looked over and asked, "Martin?"

Martin nodded his head.

The camera moved along the track, and Villeneuve glanced at the monitor in front of him and said, "Ready."

The clapperboard was brought in front of the camera, and filming began.

Martin had rehearsed the scene many times; he knew it by heart.

He grabbed a beer bottle and knocked the cap off on the edge of the low table, sending it flying.

Beer foam overflowed, getting on his hand.

Martin took a few tissues to dry his hands and noticed a tin box next to the tissue packet. He opened the tin box, took out a plastic bag from inside, glanced at the powder contained within, and eagerly opened it, pouring some onto a piece of white paper.

The camera’s lens turned towards him, starting a close-up of Martin’s face.

Martin exhaled a breath, leaned in urgently, and then lifted his head and shouted, "Stop! Stop the shooting!"

The other crew members all looked over; it was a rare sight for an actor, rather than the director, to halt filming.

Martin sealed the plastic bag, placed it back into the tin box, and held the tin in his hand.

Bruce, having a good understanding with Martin, walked directly onto the set and asked in a low voice, "What’s wrong?"

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Martin indicated the white piece of paper with his eyes, "Something’s not right."

Bruce leaned in and sniffed slightly, his expression growing serious. He leaned in and whispered, "This isn’t a vitamin; it’s probably real."

Martin scanned the set but didn’t notice anything unusual.

Director Villeneuve had already walked over quickly and asked, "Martin, what’s going on?"

Martin pointed at the white paper, "Aren’t these supposed to be vitamin props? How did they turn real?"

Villeneuve leaned over to take a look. As someone in the arts industry, he was no stranger to this stuff and immediately realized that what was on the paper was not a prop.

He stood up and shouted, "Props, props!"

Payne immediately ran over and asked, "Director?"

Villeneuve pointed at the white paper, "Did you prepare this?"

"No," Payne said, "I instructed the purchase of vitamin tablets, but after they were bought, I handed them over to Brandon who was supposed to grind them into powder."

Villeneuve asked, "Where’s Brandon?"

No one on the set answered.

The security supervisor of the crew had already come over and whispered to Bruce, "I’ve notified the producers."

The power Villeneuve held as a director was far less than that of Martin, the male lead and producer.

Even at this moment, Bruce’s words carried more weight than his.

But Villeneuve had to take a stand. After all, as the director, he was the head of all departments on set. What was supposed to be a vitamin prop had somehow become the real deal, nearly ending up being used by an actor.

And that actor was also the founder of the project and the owner of the investment company!

Villeneuve said, "Find Brandon immediately!"

Payne hurried off to look for his colleagues.

Bruce gave a signal, and the security supervisor followed with an assistant in tow.

Martin handed the tin box over to Bruce and went back to the resting area to wait.

A few security personnel came over and stood nearby.

Although Villeneuve was directing for only the second time and it was his first time directing a film in Hollywood, he still possessed basic control capabilities. He immediately had everyone return to their positions and temporarily forbade leaving the studio.

Soon, Graham from the production office area rushed over.

But Payne and the others hadn’t found Brandon yet.

There was no one in the prop crew’s exclusive compartment, and Brandon’s personal prop bag had also disappeared.

Graham came over to ask Martin’s opinion, "Should we call the police?"

"Look for him first," said Martin, who remembered Brandon. The latter had just left when the set was being cleared, not more than a few minutes ago, "He couldn’t have gone far."

Graham’s expression was extremely serious; the incident could be construed as poisoning if seen in a severe light.

And the intended target was Martin.

Villeneuve came over and said, "We haven’t found him yet."

The studio was brightly lit at the moment, and the security supervisor had searched every corner with his team but had not discovered any trace of Brandon.

Bruce had people open several doors, leading a group out of the studio. He asked a few people outside, entered the adjacent building, and went into the men’s public bathroom.

There were several individual stalls in the bathroom, one of which had a closed door.

The security supervisor bent down to look and saw someone inside. He shouted, "Brandon! Brandon..."

A strange mumbling came from within, but nobody spoke.

Bruce’s right hand remained at his waist, near his gun, and he signaled with his eyes, "Open the door."

A muscular man kicked open the partition door with a loud bang.

Brandon was sitting on the toilet, lost in thought, with his prop bag by his feet and two transparent plastic bags on the floor.

The head of security said, "He’s taken too much."

Brandon was barely conscious, saliva dribbling from his mouth.

Bruce took several photos and videos in quick succession, sending one to Martin. Martin called, "Take him to the hospital. You follow the whole process. Don’t let him die on set."

"I understand." Bruce went over to slap Brandon’s face lightly and tested his breathing, making sure that the man had just overdosed on drugs and was not in life-threatening danger. He ordered people to carry Brandon out and drove him to the nearest hospital.

This place was experienced in handling such situations; after a set of treatment measures, the patient gradually stabilized.

The hospital quickly met Bruce’s demands, placing the patient in a private room.

Bruce personally stayed in the ward.

Two security staff remained at the door of the room.

Everything had to wait until Brandon was fully conscious.

At the production company, an emergency on set forced shooting to a temporary halt.

Martin had someone save the video that had just been shot, along with the props on the white paper.

Graham issued a gag order, forbidding anyone from discussing the incident.

Of course, this could only delay the spread of the news, not prevent it from getting out.

Dozens of crewmembers on site and being in Hollywood, there was no telling if any were informers for the press.

Villeneuve said, "I’ve given the notice. Shooting is suspended for one day."

Graham looked at Martin, "It’s fortunate that you noticed in time, preventing an accident."

Martin took out his phone, scrolling through his contacts. He knew some people at the Boston Police Department from his time living there to gain experience, and he had kept in touch over the years.

"It’s not that I was lucky," Martin admitted frankly. "It’s that our circle is so rotten and chaotic. If it hadn’t been for being unable to tell real from fake, I would have been finished long ago."

Graham nodded, "Other circles are much the same."

Martin’s phone rang, and he checked the message, "He’s about to wake up. Let’s go there and see what the real situation with Brandon is."

Graham and Villeneuve followed Martin out of the studio.

The three took a minivan to the hospital.

Upon reaching the hospital room, the head of security immediately came forward and said, "Brandon is awake, and Old Cloth is with him."

Martin was the first to enter the ward, and Graham and Villeneuve followed him inside.

Bruce was leaning against the wall, staring at Brandon who laid in the hospital bed.

When Martin entered, he glanced at Old Cloth.

Bruce said softly, "He still doesn’t know what happened."

Seeing Martin, Graham, and Villeneuve — the three big names of the production crew — all at once, Brandon hurriedly said, "This was my fault. I have no objections to any punishment the crew gives me. I promise I will never touch those things on set again and won’t cause any more trouble."

Bruce had already started recording both audio and video.

Martin asked, "Were those your own things that you brought to set?"

"Yes," Brandon confessed, knowing he couldn’t hide the truth with his prop bag right there, "I couldn’t control myself today and brought them into the set."

Graham demanded harshly, "Just today?"

Although Brandon was a crew recruit, he had worked with Graham’s company several times before. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "I’ve been carrying it since the shooting started."

Villeneuve knew he had no say in the matter and stood quietly by the side.

His stance, after all, was always with the two producers.

Martin looked at Bruce, who, without a word being said, came over and opened the metal box to reveal the plastic bags inside and the powder they contained, asking, "This is yours, right?"

Brandon recognized it and nodded, "It’s mine."

No sooner had he spoken than his face turned pale, recognizing the metal box as a prop from the set and specifically for shooting. He hurriedly protested, "No, it wasn’t me who put that stuff there, it’s vitamins. How could it be! How could it be!"

Martin just looked at him coldly.

In a frenzy, Brandon remembered the foolish act he had committed during his fit earlier, slapped his forehead hard, and said, "I didn’t do it on purpose, really! It wasn’t intentional! I marked the vitamin bags clearly. Normally I wouldn’t have made a mistake! At that moment, I... I had an episode, my mind was a mess, and in my panic, I picked up the wrong thing, the wrong thing!"

Graham said coldly, "Can such an important prop be dismissed as a simple mistake?"

"It was really a mistake," Brandon insisted. "After picking up the prop, I hurried to the public restroom partition before shooting started. If it weren’t for Old Cloth noticing in time, I might have killed myself."

His words seemed somewhat plausible, as Brandon’s actions appeared more like a work error than something done intentionally.

But Martin, deep into his paranoia, didn’t believe a word of it.

Even though he saw that Brandon didn’t seem to be lying.

Graham said, "You’re not fit to remain in the crew. I will have someone discuss this with your agent and agency."

"Mr. Kim!" Brandon tried to speak but was cut off by Graham: "This is a very serious incident!"

Brandon turned pale, aware that this stuff was never an issue in Hollywood, but because it had caused a problem for the crew, it would be difficult for him to find work afterward.

Martin handed his phone to Bruce and then left the ward.

Bruce was the last to leave, dialing the emergency number.