The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 720

The restaurant fell silent as Matthew pulled Emma Roberts into a corner. The people who followed formed a human wall, completely separating her from Anne Hathaway to prevent the scene from descending back into chaos.

For a moment, the only sound in the restaurant was Anne Hathaway's weeping.

Matthew walked over to take a look. Anne Hathaway was in a terrible state; four or five red welts marred her face, blood trickled from her nostrils, and several bite marks were visible on her exposed arms.

Anne Hathaway was weeping. Meanwhile, Emma Roberts, seeing that more and more people from the crew were gathering, suddenly threw her arms around Matthew and also began to cry loudly, as if she could no longer contain herself and had finally broken down.

The police arrived soon after.

The manager of the Hilton, who had rushed over, wore a grim expression. In just a few short days, the police had been called to his hotel twice, and both incidents involved the cast and crew of Inception.

This crew was nothing but trouble.

The manager silently glanced at Matthew, Emma Roberts, Anne Hathaway, and Christopher Nolan, mentally adding all of them to his blacklist. He made a special note for Christopher Nolan—there was no way he could allow this film crew to remain at the hotel.

If this happened again, the reputation of the entire London Hilton would be ruined.

A brawl between two star actresses attracted far more attention than the incident a few days prior, when a photographer from The Sun had secretly snapped pictures of Matthew Horner.While the secret photoshoot could be blamed on a lapse in the hotel's security, today's incident was a problem the film crew had managed to create all by themselves.

How could he continue to work with them? At this rate, they would ruin his business.

The police took Emma Roberts and Anne Hathaway away.

Quiet settled over the restaurant once more. The remaining onlookers were just as bewildered as Matthew had been moments before.

Christopher Nolan and a producer from the film crew also headed to the police station.

Before Matthew could figure out what to do next, Emma Roberts's personal assistant rushed over, holding out a cell phone. To his surprise, it was Helen on the line.

After a few words, he pieced together what had happened. Helen was attending an event filled with Hollywood stars. Emma Roberts's assistant had called Julia Roberts, who happened to be at the same party. Knowing Matthew was also with the film crew, Julia had asked Helen to get in touch and have him look after Emma until she could get there. She was already on her way to the UK.

On one side was Julia Roberts, a former Hollywood superstar turned well-connected producer. On the other was Anne Hathaway. The choice was simple.

Given who Matthew was and the request coming from Helen, he readily agreed to help.

He then got the number for Julia Roberts's lawyer and hurried to the police station himself.

On the way, Matthew discovered that news about Emma and Anne had already leaked. Just like the incident with him a few days ago, the descriptions online were so vivid you would think the authors had been there to see it for themselves.

It had to be said, the British gossip industry was light-years ahead of the rest of the world.

Matthew even saw an exclusive story on The Sun's website.

The author of this particular piece was impressively inventive. According to the story, Emma Roberts and Anne Hathaway were secretly a couple. They had once been happy together, but after joining the cast of Inception, their relationship had soured—all because Anne Hathaway had started an affair with him. Anne wanted to break up with Emma for him, which sent Emma into a furious rage, ultimately leading to her physical altercation with Anne.

British entertainment reporters were not only well-informed; their ability to spin a twisted tale far surpassed that of their American counterparts.

Afterward, Matthew browsed online a bit more and found another noteworthy story, this time in the Daily Telegraph.

To distinguish themselves from The Sun, they hadn't gone with the lesbian couple angle. Instead, they still dragged him into the mess, claiming he was dating both Anne Hathaway and Emma Roberts, which had caused a bitter rivalry between the two women that finally erupted into a violent brawl.

Matthew scanned a few more of the latest rumors popping up online. These British entertainment reporters were really wasting their talents. They should be writing novels and screenplays.

***

After arriving at the police station and meeting with Julia Roberts's lawyer, Matthew got a better handle on the situation. Anne Hathaway and Emma Roberts were still giving their statements, but he learned from the producer who had arrived earlier that Anne intended to press charges against Emma for assault.

And Anne Hathaway had indeed taken a beating.

Matthew thought for a moment, then went to find Christopher Nolan, who was also at the police station.

"I hear Anne plans on making this a big deal?" he asked Nolan.

Christopher Nolan nodded and then sighed. "I wasn't paying close enough attention today. Did Anne Hathaway really use the scene to deliberately hit Emma Roberts?"

Matthew answered honestly, "I can't say for sure whether it was intentional or not. But after Anne stabbed Emma, Emma was on the ground in pain for a long time and couldn't get up. I helped her back to her trailer."

Having said that, he looked at Christopher Nolan and asked, "What's the plan?"

Christopher Nolan whispered, "The best thing to do is keep this quiet."

Matthew also spoke in a low voice. "Julia Roberts is on her way. Once the police are done with their formalities, shouldn't we get Anne and Emma out of here? The longer they stay at the station, the more trouble this will cause down the line, and the more damage it'll do to the film."

It would be better if the production team handled this internally.

Matthew had approached Christopher Nolan because he wanted the production to step in and, first and foremost, get Emma Roberts released.

As for placating Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts was arriving soon anyway. They could leave that task to her.

"The production's legal counsel has arrived," Christopher Nolan said. "This is a real headache."

It was normal for actresses to feud in secret on a film set; no one would have found that strange. But for one to so openly assault another—that was a truly rare event.

Even a seasoned director like Christopher Nolan, who had seen plenty in his career, had never encountered a situation quite like this.

They remained at the police station until the early hours of the morning, when the production's legal counsel finally completed the necessary procedures. Emma Roberts and Anne Hathaway were allowed to leave and return to the Hilton, but they were forbidden from leaving London for the time being.

Anne Hathaway went straight to the hospital, presumably to have her injuries documented.

A large crowd of paparazzi had gathered outside the police station. Matthew and the others were swarmed, and breaking free from the throng of dozens of photographers was no easy task.

Back at the hotel, Christopher Nolan seemed at a loss for words with Emma Roberts, whose expression was grim.

After Christopher Nolan left, Matthew walked over to Emma Roberts and gently patted her shoulder. "Alright, you should go get some rest."

Emma Roberts nodded, then suddenly asked, "This is all my fault, isn't it?"

Matthew didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Your aunt called me. I think she'll be here tomorrow."

Emma Roberts's assistant approached with a cell phone, saying it was a call from Los Angeles, and Matthew excused himself and left.

Because of the unexpected incident, the production had to cancel filming for the following day. After Julia Roberts arrived, she made a point of finding Matthew to get his account of the situation. After that, Matthew stayed out of it.

By Saturday, Matthew went to the law firm Doughty Street Chambers and officially signed a representation agreement with the firm and with Alma.

The following Monday, a lawsuit was to be officially filed against the two paparazzi and the cleaner.

After signing the contract, he returned to the hotel, located the miniature DV camera Brown Williams had procured for him, and got ready for his evening date with Alma.

Given the sensational incidents that had occurred one after another over the past few days, Matthew had no intention of leaving the hotel. When they were signing the contract, he had arranged to meet Alma at one of the hotel's restaurants.

At six o'clock that evening, he met the exquisitely dressed Alma right on time.

She was an extraordinary woman, nothing like the actresses and models Matthew had dated before. She possessed the mature, intellectual temperament of a true professional. It was this quality, a world away from the entertainment industry, that set Alma Alamuddin apart from the other women he had known. But over dinner, Matthew also recognized a trait she shared with the women of Hollywood: she was intensely ambitious.

As soon as dinner was over, he invited Alma up to his suite. True to her word, she happily agreed, following him from the restaurant to his luxurious rooms upstairs.

They already had an understanding, and since everything was settled, Matthew saw no reason for restraint. The verbal exchange they had shared in the restaurant evolved into a much more profound exchange in his suite.

Alma did not leave Matthew's suite that night.