Born Into Villain's Family: I Have a 200\% Rebate System-Chapter 557: Expose

Before Ella could react, he pulled out his phone and calmly pointed the camera directly at her.

Ella blinked, then chuckled mockingly.

"Oh? What are you doing?" she sneered. "Trying to record a video?"

She leaned back slightly, completely unconcerned.

"Go ahead. Record whatever you want. I’ll make sure the video gets deleted anyway. And if you keep acting stubborn..."

Her eyes turned cold. "I’ll ask my uncle to completely edit you out of the film. Every single scene."

She looked extremely arrogant while saying those words.

Even though she knew deep down that she didn’t possess that much power, she wanted to crush Theodore’s confidence and make him feel helpless.

However, when she noticed the faint smugness in Theodore’s eyes, an uneasy chill crept down her spine.

’A bad feeling...’

For a brief moment, she wondered whether threatening him so openly had been a mistake.

But Theodore didn’t give her time to rethink anything.

With a calm smile, he spoke.

"Before you start throwing around all those threats," he said lightly, "why don’t you say hello to everyone watching the live stream?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Ella’s eyes widened.

"You’re lying!" she blurted out instantly.

Her voice sounded confident, but if one looked closely, her fingers were trembling slightly.

It was as if she was genuinely afraid that Theodore had actually done exactly what he claimed.

When she saw how calm Theodore looked, her heart sank.

’No... no way... did he really...’

Realizing the possibility, her face turned pale.

Without another word, she rushed to the door and fled the resting lounge.

Meanwhile, the live stream on Theodore’s phone had already exploded with activity. Comments flooded the screen like a storm.

One after another, many viewers began sympathizing with Theodore, while others praised him for his quick thinking and courage.

Theodore calmly ended the live stream and lowered his phone.

He knew perfectly well that by doing this, he had already messed up the film’s promotion event.

Logically speaking, even if an actor was being pressured in private, they were not supposed to create scandals like this. Exposing the dark side of the industry publicly was practically a career-ending move.

But Theodore could do it because he had powerful backing.

He knew he was being arrogant. But so what?

He had lived at the very bottom of society before. He had experienced the harshest side of the world, and he still remembered the promise he once made to himself.

’If I ever gain power... I won’t stay silent anymore.’

Anyone who tried to take advantage of him would be exposed without mercy. And Ella was one of those people.

The reason he had gone to such an extreme measure tonight was simple. He didn’t dare underestimate her.

She had already managed to create a scandalous topic when there had been almost nothing between them.

God knew what she might fabricate if they were truly alone together in a closed room.

Once the live stream spread across the internet, Ella’s reputation plummeted almost instantly.

Criticism poured in from every direction.

Even the film’s director was completely stunned when he heard about what had happened. After harshly scolding Ella for her reckless behavior, he hurried over to find Theodore.

Soon, the two of them sat down for a private meeting.

The director leaned forward, his face tense.

"You need to release a statement immediately," he said firmly. "Tell the public that what happened between you and Ella was nothing more than a prank."

Theodore frowned slightly before shaking his head.

"No."

The director’s expression darkened, and his voice dropped into a slightly threatening tone.

"Think carefully before you refuse," he warned. "Do you really want to be completely removed from the film... even as the male lead?"

Theodore suddenly laughed, the sound light and mocking, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

He leaned back slightly in his chair and looked at the director with raised brows.

"Do you even remember who put all the money into your little film?"

The words hung heavily in the air.

The director froze for a moment, and the color slowly drained from his face. O

nly then did the reality hit him.

Ninety percent of the investment in the film had come directly from Theodore’s own company.

They had even added extra funds afterward just to make sure Theodore could have better resources and a comfortable acting environment during filming.

And now... he had just threatened the very person who financed almost the entire project.

A faint cold sweat appeared on the director’s forehead. He swallowed nervously and forced an awkward smile.

"Well... during the next film we might shoot..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Theodore casually waved his hand, cutting him off mid-speech.

"I won’t ever work with a director like you again."

His tone was calm, but every word carried a cold edge.

"You took so much of my investment money and still had the audacity to stand in front of me and demand something this unreasonable."

Theodore’s gaze sharpened slightly.

"If I ever agreed to work with you again, God knows what kind of ridiculous demands you’d come up with next."

The director opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was completely speechless.

Theodore slowly stood up from his seat and straightened his jacket.

"Since we’ve already talked about everything that needed to be said," he continued calmly, "I’ll leave first."

Without giving the director another glance, he turned and walked away. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Behind him, the director could only point angrily at Theodore’s back. His face had turned bright red with frustration.

"You... you..."

But in the end, not a single complete sentence came out of his mouth.

After several seconds, his raised hand slowly dropped, and he let out a long, helpless sigh.

"Kids nowadays..." he muttered bitterly under his breath. "They’ve truly become too unforgiving."

Meanwhile, Theodore had already arranged to meet Jacqueline.

After everything she had done to help him recently, he had wanted to thank her properly. In fact, he had been planning to invite her out for a relaxing afternoon tea.

When he arrived at the café they had chosen, the warm aroma of roasted coffee beans drifted through the air.

Through the large glass window, he could clearly see Jacqueline already sitting at a small round table near the corner.

Just as Theodore was about to step inside, a man suddenly walked over and sat down directly across from Jacqueline.

Theodore paused.

The man looked confident, even a little flamboyant. He leaned forward slightly while talking to Jacqueline, occasionally teasing her with playful gestures.

From Theodore’s perspective outside the café, the two of them looked extremely familiar with each other, almost like a couple sharing a private moment.

A faint bitterness rose in his chest.

’What is this... some kind of heartbreak scene right in front of me?’

He clenched his teeth slightly and remained standing at the side of the street, silently watching through the glass window.

From where he stood, Jacqueline occasionally lowered her head while talking, and at one point her cheeks even seemed slightly red.

The two of them continued chatting for nearly half an hour before the man finally stood up and left.

Only after he disappeared down the street did Theodore finally step toward the entrance.

For a moment, his expression looked slightly disheartened before he pushed the door open and walked inside the café.

The soft ringing of the doorbell chimed lightly.

When Jacqueline noticed him approaching, her eyes brightened and she smiled playfully.

"If I didn’t know better," she teased, "I would have thought you were the girl here."

Theodore gave a faint smile in return, but this time his face didn’t look as bright and cheerful as it usually did.

Jacqueline noticed the subtle difference immediately.

She assumed he was still bothered by the scandal earlier.

Her expression softened, and she gently reached across the table to pat the back of his hand.

"It’s alright," she said softly. "That scandal is nothing. You already gave a good explanation, so you don’t need to worry about it anymore."

Hearing those words, Theodore realized that Jacqueline probably hadn’t even noticed the real reason behind his mood.

She didn’t know that he had been standing outside just minutes ago, watching her talk and laugh with another man.

Taking a quiet breath, he forced a small smile. "Yeah... I know."

But he didn’t pull his hand away.

Instead, he let Jacqueline continue holding it.

For the first time, he felt as if his heart might explode right inside his chest.

The warmth of her hand seemed to travel straight through his veins.

All the unpleasant emotions he had felt earlier suddenly faded away.

For a fleeting moment, a hopeful thought appeared in his mind.

’If she’s comforting me like this... maybe she actually likes me...?’

But almost immediately he scolded himself internally.

’Don’t think too much... you’re definitely overthinking this.’

Jacqueline, completely unaware of the chaotic battle happening inside Theodore’s mind, raised her hand and called the waiter over.