The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 651

Scurrying to the elevator bank, Matthew first peeked cautiously inside. Seeing the small space was as empty as before, he began pressing the call button.

While waiting for the doors to open, he stole a glance behind him, confirming he was alone. He then slipped into the elevator and jabbed the button for the first floor, where the hotel lobby was located.

The bright red letters scrawled across his black SUV could have been a prank or revenge from someone he'd wronged, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that someone was genuinely crazy enough to try and kill him.

Matthew cherished his life—the glamorous life he was living now. After all, he'd only been enjoying it for a few short years.

He was on high alert. While two or three ordinary men wouldn't stand a chance against him in a fight, he knew all too well how useless martial skill was against a firearm.

No matter how trained his body was, it couldn't stop a bullet.

The elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors slid open.

Matthew didn't step out immediately. He braced himself for an attack; in a confined space like an elevator, he believed he'd still have a fighting chance, even against someone with a gun.

Just as his nerves were stretched to their breaking point, an elderly man on crutches entered the elevator. He gave Matthew a surprised look, coughed several times, and his whole body trembled as if it might fall apart at any moment.

Looking at the old man, Matthew managed a faint smile before darting out of the elevator and into the lobby. The sight of several hotel security guards made him let out a sigh of relief.Matthew exhaled, the image of the bright red streak on his Mercedes-Benz SUV flashing in his mind, but he didn't let his guard down as he approached the hotel's lobby manager.

He had been to the Four Seasons many times, and the lobby manager looked familiar.

He quickly explained what had happened. The manager's expression shifted; he apologized profusely before grabbing his radio to alert security.

Before the manager could finish, the hotel's automatic doors slid open, and two patrol officers walked in.

This was Beverly Hills, one of the most famous affluent neighborhoods in the entire United States. The Beverly Hills Police Department had a heavy patrol presence here, and an officer would arrive within five minutes of receiving an alert.

In downtown Los Angeles, you'd be left waiting.

Just as the two patrolmen found Matthew, Brown and his team of bodyguards also arrived at the Four Seasons.

Only when Brown and the four bodyguards had formed a protective circle around him did Matthew begin to feel a little calmer.

An incident like this could be treated as either a major issue or a minor one.

But when the person who called the police was a rich celebrity like Matthew Horner, it was never a minor issue.

Soon, an officer from the Beverly Hills Police Department who specialized in these types of cases arrived.

"Hello, Mr. Horner."

In the underground parking garage, a middle-aged sergeant approached Matthew and extended his hand. "Sergeant Bernard," he said directly. "We meet again."

Bernard smiled, a hint of unconcealed embarrassment on his face. "I heard the case involved you, so I rushed over as soon as I could. Rest assured, we will handle this as quickly as possible."

Matthew's expression darkened slightly. He was skeptical of the cop's abilities; years had passed since the underwear theft at his estate, and the police still hadn't solved the case.

The efficiency of the Los Angeles police truly left something to be desired.

"As a resident of Beverly Hills, I'm concerned about the deteriorating state of law and order," Matthew voiced his dissatisfaction. "The robbery at my estate remains unsolved, and now someone is openly threatening my life."

"I'm very sorry," Bernard replied, his tone exceptionally conciliatory:

"The police have not let up on the investigation into the theft at your estate."

Matthew said nothing more. The underwear theft had clearly become a cold case.

Just then, Helen arrived. With her by his side, Matthew gave his statement to the police, though, truth be told, there wasn't much to say.

Of course, in Matthew's mind, he wasn't being paranoid—just self-aware.

In this country, getting a gun was far too easy.

The police also asked if he had any recent quarrels with anyone, to which Matthew replied that, of course, he hadn't.

Half an hour later, Matthew left the hotel. The Mercedes-Benz SUV was temporarily out of commission, so he got straight into Helen's car. Brown sat in the passenger seat, and one of Matthew's own bodyguards took over as the driver.

"Could this be connected to the underwear theft from two years ago?" Helen asked suspiciously.

As the car pulled out of the underground garage, Matthew glanced out the window and saw that numerous entertainment reporters had already swarmed the main entrance of the Four Seasons. Those guys were certainly well-informed.

"Who knows..." Matthew shrugged. "That case was never solved. It's entirely possible the underwear thief has returned."

A slight headache was forming, and he said to Brown, "Tighten security at the estate as well."

Brown replied, "Understood."

Her phone rang. Helen answered it, spoke for a moment, then hung up. She looked at Matthew and said, "That was Sergeant Bernard. The police have accessed the hotel's underground parking garage surveillance and other nearby footage. They've found some leads."

Matthew raised his eyebrows. "Who did it?"

Helen replied calmly, "A Hispanic man, likely between thirty and forty years old. The incident occurred at four in the morning."

"A Hispanic man?" Matthew frowned slightly.

"Bernard suspects he's of Mexican descent," Helen continued. "He didn't cover his face or try to hide from the cameras. After leaving the Four Seasons garage, he drove an unlicensed motorcycle toward downtown Los Angeles."

After a moment's thought, she added, "He was definitely targeting you."

Matthew nodded. The Four Seasons garage was full of cars. If the vandal was targeting luxury vehicles, there was a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Ferrari parked right next to his SUV. His Mercedes G-Wagen was far less valuable in comparison.

Helen added, "With the surveillance footage, the police will be able to investigate. I'll keep the pressure on them."

"Stay on top of this," Matthew said after a moment's thought. "And the estate robbery."

The car headed toward Horner Manor and took him straight home.

Once home, Matthew called the G.I. Joe production team to postpone his work for the day. He didn't just sit around, though. Brown was adjusting security, so he didn't have to worry about that.

After seeing Helen off, Matthew opened his computer and started sifting through the latest emails. There was a lot of information about G.I. Joe and the male lead, Duke, which the production team had sent over just yesterday.

He had only signed the contract a few days ago and hadn't yet done a deep dive into the characters or background material beyond a general understanding.

With filming not far off, Matthew temporarily set aside Christopher Nolan's Inception and, from the moment he signed, focused his attention entirely on this new project.

Even for a purely commercial popcorn flick like this, there was still plenty of necessary prep work to be done.

A toned, powerful physique was essential, as was a certain degree of military proficiency and basic combat training.

Fortunately, Matthew had no issues on that front. He had starred in numerous military-themed films and was intimately familiar with firearms, so the action scenes posed no problem for him.

The character's background, however, was somewhat less familiar.

Matthew had watched the cartoon series back in the day, but it had been a simple, amusing experience, nowhere near as memorable as Transformers.

The only character from the cartoon that had left any real impression on him was Duke.

And, of course, Cobra Commander and the bald-headed Destro.

He had forgotten most of the rest.

For the remainder of the day, Matthew focused on reviewing the relevant emails sent by the production crew, especially the materials pertaining to Duke.