Manhattan, in a spacious apartment, the tall Taylor Swift was on the phone while the even taller Carly Kloss leaned in, her ear pressed against the other side of the phone.
Selena Gomez, shorter in stature, squeezed her way into their midst.
And then there was Cara Delevingne, a recent acquaintance of the trio, also curiously inching closer.
Taylor, somewhat helpless with her girlfriends, continued speaking to Martin, "I saw in the papers, you’re in New York shooting? I’m on vacation here, and Carly and Selena are also in town. Plus, there’s a new friend, Cara, who wants to meet you too. How about we throw a party tomorrow night?"
On the other end, Martin said, "No problem, I have an apartment on the Upper East Side that’s quite large, soundproof, and overlooks Central Park."
Carly Kloss nudged Taylor, signaling her to take up the offer quickly.
Taylor responded, "Sure, we’ll have a wild party at your apartment tomorrow night."
Martin said from the other side, "Tomorrow at six in the afternoon, I’ll send a car to pick you up." He then asked, "Do you have any special plans for tonight?"
Taylor said, "Tonight is a girls’ night out. We’re planning to enjoy a show in Central Park."
Martin paused for a moment, then said, "Sounds close to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel I’m staying at."
"We won’t come looking for you, tonight is for the girls," Taylor repeated and decided to end the call, "Martin, see you tomorrow night."
"See you tomorrow night."
After hanging up, Taylor looked at her three friends.
Without hesitation, Carly Kloss said, "I’m in for tomorrow night."
Selena Gomez chimed in, "You said last time it could soothe the vocal cords. I’m also releasing an album, so I want to give it a try."
These girls, who’d been mixing in the entertainment industry since their early teens, had seen too much mess and chaos to be fazed by it anymore; it was all too familiar.
Taylor then looked at Cara Delevingne.
She said, "Martin Davis is my idol, and I know his ex-girlfriend Blake Lively. She once told me the greatest achievement for a fan is to hook up with their idol."
With a laugh, Taylor said, "Okay, so it’s happily decided!"
Carly Kloss patted Taylor’s shoulder and remarked, "I even prepared a special gift for Martin."
Curious, Selena asked, "What gift?"
Carly dragged over her suitcase, took out a thirty-centimeter-long cardboard box, and placed it in the middle of the group, "A whole box of Durex."
"Good, remember to bring it tomorrow," Taylor said as she picked up her bag. "Now let’s head off to Central Park."
The four girls descended the stairs, got into the same car, and drove off towards Central Park.
......
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
After dinner, Lily arrived first at the bar and ordered a Penicillin. She took a seat at a table and waited for Martin and the others to arrive.
She sipped on the golden liquid and, looking up at the wall behind the bar, saw the surname of the Penicillin’s creator—Louise Mel.
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But Lily knew that it was Martin who had first mixed the drink.
Suddenly, a woman approached to greet her, "Hi, we meet again. Remember me?"
Lily looked up and saw a blond woman whom she felt she’d seen somewhere before.
The blond woman sat opposite her and said, "My name is Allison-Mack, we met at Warner Bros. Studios, in front of the ’Smallville’ crew’s studio."
Lily recalled, "You were the one selling something, trying to pitch me some management course?"
Allison-Mack, with a smile, said, "Last time I didn’t recognize you—you’re Lily Carter, the young sculptor."
She brought up the past discussion, "It wasn’t a management course, it was about purifying the spirit, making you purer and helping you achieve higher in art."
Lily inquired, "Purifying the spirit? I’m a very pure girl, I don’t need purification."
Not waiting for Allison to speak again, she sent her away, "Ma’am, my friends will be here soon, let’s leave it at that."
Allison said, "Then I won’t bother you any longer."
Lily waved her off nonchalantly.
After Allison-Mack left the bar, she didn’t depart but went upstairs to a private room.
In the room, a middle-aged man with dark-framed glasses who appeared to be as cultured and refined as a professor sat there.
At his feet were two women, one holding a bottle and a glass, the other holding a fruit platter as if they were servants before him.
Allison Mack bowed respectfully and greeted, "Sect Hierarch."
Keith Raniere glanced at her and remarked, "You’re late."
Allison lifted her hand and smacked herself hard across the face, the blow was so forceful that her cheek swelled visibly.
Raniere just watched her quietly.
Then Allison explained, "Downstairs I met a girl, perfect to serve as your hierarch. We can brand her in a private spot with the mark exclusively belonging to the hierarch."
As she spoke the last sentence, she and the two kneeling women each pulled down their pants to reveal a mark seared on by a branding iron at a private spot, marking the initial of Raniere’s name.
Raniere stood up, "Where is this person?"
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Allison led the way upstairs to the railing overlooking the first-floor lobby and pointed at Lily, who was alone, saying, "That’s her."
Below, Lily was heading to the bar to fetch something.
From Raniere’s perspective, Lily wasn’t just delicately beautiful and tall and sexy, she also possessed a very unique temperament.
"Who is she?" Raniere asked.
"Lily Carter." Allison, eager for her master’s reward, was constantly searching for new slaves for Raniere.
She knew that the girl below would definitely pique her master’s interest. "A young sculptor," she said.
Raniere watched for a moment, certain that she was the very type he favored most, and turned back to the private room, saying as he walked, "No matter what method you use, bring her to the headquarters of the church; I will personally preside over her baptism and purify her soul."
Allison followed up, saying, "Sect Hierarch, this girl is a tough nut to crack. I plan to buy her work and use the opportunity to establish a good relationship with her, then lead her into our sacred organization."
Raniere, who was also a famous Los Angeles Sect Hierarch, said, "Alright, I will specially allocate 500,000 US dollars for this matter. Do not disappoint me."
Allison was overjoyed: "Sect Hierarch, I’ll definitely satisfy you."
Back in the private room, it wasn’t long before Catherine Oxenberg, who had an appointment, arrived.
She was also a Hollywood actress and a fairly well-known female producer.
Catherine Oxenberg brought a gift for her master—her daughter, India Oxenberg.
......
Downstairs, Martin, Bruce, and Mene entered the bar and instantly noticed the conspicuously alone Lily.
The three men approached and pulled out chairs to sit down. Lily slid her barely touched Penicillin cocktail across to Martin. "This cocktail is horribly bad; it’s yours now," she said.
Martin took a sip, remembering that it was Louise’s favorite.
Mene asked Lily, "Are you here alone and nobody bothered you?" He mimicked a fighting stance, "When I came in, I was even ready to play the hero."
Between Lily’s fingers, a carving knife twirled like a butterfly: "To practice human sculpture, I taught myself some medical knowledge."
Mene got the hint and nodded repeatedly, "That could a person completely incapacitated in no time."
Suddenly recalling an earlier incident, Lily casually mentioned, "Some odd woman came up to me a while ago, asking me to join some course and saying she wanted to ’cleanse my soul’."
She snorted and asked, "Have you ever seen a girl purer than me?"
Mene was the first to reply, "No!"
Bruce knew another side of Lily and didn’t say a word.
Martin, on the other hand, cautioned her, "You’ve grown up, so be more careful. Whenever you hear anything about cleansing or purifying the mind, stay away. It’s likely a cult."
Lily heeded Martin’s words, "I’ll remember that."
Chad, Chen Hu, Marcus, and the others arrived at that moment.
Martin waved them over, "This way."
When they sat down, Martin called over the waiter to order drinks.
Tomorrow was a weekend and the film crew had a day off, so they could afford to drink a bit without worrying about work.
Everyone poured their drinks, and Martin raised his glass, "Here’s to our movie continuing to be a huge success."
"A huge success!" They all drank in unison. Find exclusive stories on freewebnovel
Mene, always the life of the party, started recounting amusing stories from filming in France last year.
Especially when he came to speaking about Isabel Huppert and his right-hand woman, Sophie Marceau, others couldn’t help but feel envious.
While these European art-film divas might be open-minded and brazen in their ways, viewing disrobing as no different from eating or drinking, they were not easily seduced by just anyone.
Bruce put an arm around Mene’s shoulder, saying, "Nobody can beat good old Mene; you’re the most invincible among us."
Martin agreed, "I’m no match for Mene."
Chad concurred, "Indeed."
Marcus said, "What I could only dream of, you achieved with ease."
Chen Hu gave Mene a thumbs-up, "If I had half your skills, I wouldn’t need to toil in every film crew, I could be enjoying life, financially free."
Mene waved it off, "I’ve also practiced hard for over a decade."
The group laughed and joked, sipping their drinks.
Lily had an exhibition to attend the next day and was the first to leave the bar.
Just after she left, Martin’s phone rang—it was Taylor Swift calling.
It was getting crowded and noisy, so Martin pulled out his phone and signaled before stepping outside the bar to answer.
As he placed the phone to his ear, he heard Taylor’s hurried voice, "Martin, come quick, come save us, we’re being targeted by a bunch of thugs here at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, hurry!"
"What’s going on?" Martin quickly urged, "Call the police!"
Taylor added, "It’s not that serious yet; we’re facing off against them. Come quick and bring some people."
Having had a few drinks, Martin immediately returned to the bar and briefed the group, all of whom insisted on going with him.
Bruce even quietly checked his gun.
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