America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 546 Facing Together

Breaking news: Hollywood star, American national hero, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Martin Davis is suspected of coercion; victim Toni Fairman has officially filed a police report!

Our national hero is actually a rapist?!

In his Beverly Hills mansion, Stuart Townsend, glancing at the tabloid reports, happily picked up his milk glass and downed the milk in one gulp.

That jerk next door is finally going to get what's coming to him!

When Hollywood stars are exposed for something like this, it's 99% true, with almost no exceptions.

Stuart took a bottle of champagne from the cupboard, ready to have a toast to celebrate.

He hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Footsteps sounded as Charlize Theron entered the restaurant. Seeing Stuart drinking so early in the morning, she frowned. "Didn't you have enough to drink last night? Do you want to be drunk all day?"

"Seeing something happy makes me want to have a drink to celebrate." Because of the argument after the Cannes Film Festival, the two have been sleeping in separate rooms. Stewart also hates Martin even more, saying, "Your good friend and neighbor is now a rapist. Stay away from him, so people don't think we like to be friends with rapists."

Charlize, puzzled, picked up the newspaper on the table and saw the news articles. But below them, she found another message: Martin had already reported to the LAPD before the victim reported him, claiming he had been blackmailed.

The newspaper she was holding was *U.S. News*, a well-known tabloid.

Charlize put it down and picked up a copy of the Los Angeles Times. The front page was divided into two parts: the left half featured Martin reporting the incident to the police and announcing at a press conference that he was willing to conduct a paternity test; the right half featured the opposing story of Toni Fairman reporting that she had been tricked and coerced.

Before halftime, Stewart opened a glass of champagne, slammed it down on the table, and said, "He forced someone, made them have a child, and then didn't dare to acknowledge it. We should never associate with a coward like Martin Davis again."

The matter was still unresolved. Charlize put down her newspaper, too lazy to respond to Stewart's words, and leisurely began to eat her breakfast.

…………

Inside the neighboring manor, the atmosphere seemed somewhat tense; the servants became cautious, moving with utmost care in everything they did.

Martin, on the other hand, was quite relaxed, listening to Bruce recount the latest findings from the private investigator.

"Shortly after the Oscars this year, Toni left the bridal party and started living alone in Burbank." Although it hadn't been long, he had still uncovered quite a bit: "One very interesting thing is that around the time of the Oscars, Toni was working on our community board!"

Martin wasn't too surprised, after all, he had personally witnessed Tony leading a group of people rummaging through the trash in the Coty community.

Bruce continued, "She and a girl named Elsa got the job through a supervisor on the community council, but after the Oscars, they both resigned from the community. After Toni disappeared, that Elsa is now the leader of the sorority."

Martin reacted quickly: "Send someone to find Elsa."

Bruce said, "I've already sent Ivan; finding him shouldn't be difficult."

Based on the information available, he speculated: "In the Coty community, they rummaged through our trash cans more than once, and it was because of their crazy behavior that you paid special attention to this and reminded me about condoms."

"McLean reports that Toni has agreed to a DNA paternity test." This is what puzzles Martin the most: "She's either a complete idiot or incredibly confident, but I don't think she's that stupid. Why is she so confident?"

Bruce said, "They found those things in our trash cans? That's impossible!"

Martin said, "There are only two men in this house, you and me. If it's not you and me, whose is it?"

Bruce asked, "This happened around Oscar night, when you called Leonardo and Nicholson?"

"It wasn't them!" Martin was certain of this, and said thoughtfully, "Around the night of the Oscars, I remember something happened..."

He paused for a moment, then remembered: "Brandt from the community council came to visit the other day and said that around the time I won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the community had towed away Charlize Theron's dumpster for repairs. Our dumpster is right next to theirs; could their trash have been dumped in ours those days?"

Bruce asked, "You and Charlize aren't on very good terms, are you?"

Martin picked up his phone, dialed Charlize's number, and said, "Hi, Sally, thanks for your concern. I'm fine, I'll be done soon."

He asked, "I need your help with something. Around the time of the Oscars this year, your trash can was taken away by the community for repairs. Did you throw your trash into my trash can at that time? It's okay, the community has already reported this, I'll look into it and give you a reply."

Charlize, who was next door, said, "I was filming out there those days and I don't know much about it. Wait a moment, I'll go ask her."

She temporarily hung up the phone, found Stuart, and asked him about it.

Stewart remembered the incident of kicking the trash can very clearly, saying, "That's right, the trash can was damaged and was taken away by the community, so I temporarily threw my trash into the trash can next door."

He scoffed, "That bastard next door is causing us trouble over this? Is he out of his mind? We only borrowed his trash can for a few days!"

Charlize didn't want to argue with Stewart, so she left the room and called Martin back: "Stewart did throw his trash in your bin those days, Martin, I'm so sorry..."

Martin said, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

After exchanging a few more polite words, they hung up the phone.

Bruce overheard their entire conversation: "Could it be the gigolo next door?"

These are just guesses. Martin thought for a moment and said, "Go and quietly ask around in the community if any women went to see Stewart during those days."

Bruce said, "Let Lily go. She's close with some of the women in the neighborhood, and women tend to gossip."

Martin nodded.

Bruce's phone rang at that moment. He answered and spoke for a while before hanging up. He then told Martin, "Jordy has taken care of the last victim and is on his way back to Los Angeles from out of town."

Martin tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Would it be feasible to wait until the paternity test results are in and the media reports are widespread before having her publish them?"

Bruce hesitated slightly, then made up his mind: "I will persuade her."

Even if Martin is innocent, there will still be rumors. Although he doesn't care, once the Harvey Weinstein scandal breaks, no one will pay attention to him for a long time.

The best way to cover up a hot topic is to create an even hotter one.

The sound of a car engine came from outside, followed by a flurry of footsteps. Elizabeth rushed into the villa, stopped at the entrance, and looked at Martin with a slightly complicated expression.

Martin stood up from the sofa and made a point of explaining, "Someone's slandering me; some bastards are trying to get me!"

Elizabeth rushed over, opened her arms and hugged Martin, saying, "No matter what happens, I will face it with you."

Martin hugged her tightly: "I agree to a paternity test, and the whole process will be public."

"I saw it." Elizabeth's feelings were a little complicated, but she knew that standing with Martin at this moment was the wisest choice. "I'll go with you."

Lily came in from outside and looked Elizabeth over with interest.

Some fools, when faced with such a crisis, first turn on their own people instead of working together to resolve it.

Soon, Thomas arrived and told Martin that he had contacted some media outlets who would be following and filming the entire event.

…………

Also in Beverly Hills, in a mansion not far away, Harvey Weinstein, who had just returned from England, gathered the members of the Foot Clan to discuss matters.

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, being more traditional film directors, did not come.

There were four people who came: Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, and Matt Damon.

Although the latter was brought over by Ben, he came along because he heard that he could embarrass Martin.

"The current situation is that Martin has agreed to a paternity test." Ben couldn't understand: "He seems very confident that the child is not his."

Brad Pitt said, "As far as I know, Martin has close ties with the LAPD. Could he be trying to manipulate the test results?"

"I will contact the media I know and have them keep a close eye on the whole process!" Harvey didn't ask anything else, but instead pushed the matter forward. Even if there were problems, they would be the problems of the Pitt and Affleck brothers, and had nothing to do with him.

If there are no problems, then Martin will face huge trouble.

This is what Harvey wanted to see.

Having come this far, there was no turning back. He said, "We need to make a big splash. The paternity test will prove the scumbag Martin did, and we'll make sure he never has a chance to raise his head again!"

Matt Damon said, "I'll also leverage my network if the evidence is conclusive."

Big Ben nodded to him and said, "Wait for our good news."

This may be the most high-profile paternity test in the United States since the beginning of the new century.

On the internet, the voices criticizing and supporting Martin have become incredibly heated.

Tabloids are publishing headlines like "Martin suspected of coercion" because that's the most attention-grabbing thing to do.

The reports in major newspapers have not yet shown any bias; everyone is waiting for the results of the investigation.

Martin's numerous brand partners are also monitoring the situation but have not yet commented.

Companies like Warner Bros. have also remained silent.

Many people have called Martin, and he has told them not to rush into a statement and to wait a few days before making a decision.

Similarly, to prevent the other party from tampering with the authentication process, Martin made extensive preparations, and multiple media outlets will broadcast the entire process live.

Martin may have kept a low profile and remained silent, but he was actually doing his job ahead of time.

Ivan found Elsa, and Elsa surrendered in the face of money.

Thomas has contacted familiar media reporters and will hold a press conference immediately after the test results are released.

This is the third update today; the next two chapters will be released shortly.

(End of this chapter)