Love in the Limelight (Astrid and Elio)

Chapter 489

So it made sense that she was out cold.

Maddox's voice cut through the tension, "You said someone paid you to come here and play spook.

Spill the beans on who it is, and we'll get you to a hospital."

The woman hesitated, "Mr. Maddox, you're asking me to bite the hand that feeds. I've already cashed Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

the check. If I rat them out and they're watching this live, I'm toast!"

"Fine, we'll leave it," Maddox relented, then turned to his crew, "Keep a couple of guys on her. If

anyone shows up to fetch her, nab them too."

"Got it, Mr. Maddox," one of the crew affirmed.

Seeing that Maddox and his team were about to leave, panic seized the woman, and she burst into

tears. "Mr. Maddox, please don't go. I got the gig online. The client paid me through an anonymous

account. I swear I don't know who hired me. They just said to haunt around this forest. The pay was so

good, I took the bait! I really don't know anything else. Help me, Astar! Please!"

When the woman called out to her, Astrid turned around and looked at her. "Don't worry, you're not

gonna die."

Maddox had seen Astrid's hacking prowess before, and the mention of an online transaction had his

eyes lighting up with an idea. "Astrid, can you do us a solid and trace who it was?"

Astrid was already curious, so she nodded, "Sure, but what's in it for me?"

She eyed Maddox up and down, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. She then addressed

the camera, "Our dear director Maddox always hides behind a mask. I remember the fans once

petitioned en masse for you to show your face. How about this—if I find out who's behind this, you drop

the mask for the camera?"

Maddox felt his whole body protest at the suggestion. "Isn't that a bit much?"

The online crowd went wild.

[Only Astar knows us! I've seen so many shows produced by Mr. Maddox, always wondered what he

looks like. Finally, a chance!]

[Love you Astar! I'm dying to see Mr. Maddox's face!]

[Mr. Maddox looks so vulnerable, he wouldn't dare refuse, would he? Especially with Mr. Lampard

watching. If he says no, half the show's funding will be pulled!]

After much hesitation, Maddox gave in, "Alright, deal. If you can trace it, the mask comes off."

The live stream viewers erupted in excitement. Maddox's face was one of the entertainment industry's

top unsolved mysteries.

With the news out, the show's popularity soared even higher.

Word spread like wildfire, and soon the number of viewers spiked.

Compared to the lavish control room Astrid had built on the island last time, Maddox's makeshift trailer

looked rather shabby.

As Astrid stepped into the trailer, the crew immediately cleared a computer for her. The tech

enthusiasts' eyes shone like they were in the presence of a deity.

The crew relayed the ghostly woman's personal information to Astrid. Starting with her social media

account, Astrid quickly hacked into it. The employer, probably watching the live stream, had already

blocked the woman's account. Still, it was child's play for Astrid to recover the data and pinpoint the

sender's location.

It seemed like an easy victory, but as Astrid breached the firewall, something interesting happened—

the other party attempted to hack back into Astrid's computer.