America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 549 The Mastermind

After the press conference ended, Martin and his entourage got into the same van and left first.

In the car, Leonardo shook his head regretfully: "We came to see you make a fool of yourself, to see you get messed up, and this is all?"

With the matter largely resolved, Nicholson, once again a fence-sitter, stood against Martin: "Next time, could you switch roles and let Leo and me take the lead?"

The last time he played the big game, he had a blast, feeling like he had everything under control.

I didn't feel involved much this time; I just watched from the sidelines.

Elizabeth and Lily are immune to the idiocy of the Face Gang.

Martin, no joke, said, "Tony's backers are Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, and Brad Pitt."

Nicholson pushed up his sunglasses: "So it's a losers' league."

Leonardo added, "They are the core members of the Foot Clan."

Martin nodded slightly: "As you said, many of the media outlets today were invited by Harvey Weinstein."

He stated directly, "Next, I'm prepared to engage in direct combat with the Foot Clan, targeting Xavi!"

Nicholson's biggest fear is having nothing to do, so he chimed in, "Others worry that messing with him will affect their careers, but I'm never afraid. At worst, I'll just retire."

He was practically retired anyway.

Leonardo reiterated, "Harvey is no ordinary person, and the three of us are no ordinary people either."

“It’s not just the three of us,” Martin said briefly, then added, “Perfect, let’s start with Ben, Pete, and Cassie, using this extortion case as a starting point.”

…………

The press conference proceeded in a bizarre manner, making it highly newsworthy, and reporters rushed back to write their reports.

Some were heading to Beverly Hills to interview the famous cauldron Stuart Townsend.

Some journalists who had contact with Charlize Theron or her agent immediately began to reach out to her.

Tony, who was holding the baby, was relatively ignored.

Elsa and others became stars in the eyes of the media.

Toni stood patiently in the lobby, holding her child.

Several detectives then approached her, showed her their warrants, and said, "Ms. Toni Fairman, you are suspected of extorting Martin Davis. Please come with us..."

After hearing their routine words, Toni said, "I'll go with you."

Two policewomen accompanied her out of the lobby, one on each side.

Reporters who hadn't left yet started taking pictures.

The group quickly arrived at the police station, where the paternity test results showed that Martin was not a match at all. Even if Toni was not very bright, she could tell that her demand for $1000 million had turned into a huge problem.

Just like Lily said, it involves crime.

This kind of woman only thinks about herself; at a time like this, she wouldn't care about the lives of others.

Without any hesitation, Toni shifted all the blame onto the Affleck brothers and Pitt.

They even provided several phone recordings and video recordings.

Toni secretly recorded Ben Affleck and the others' instructions to her, intending to use them as teaching material to constantly remind herself how to behave when facing Martin.

All of these have now come in handy.

In the past, the detective department might have hesitated to deal with the Affleck brothers and Brad Pitt, but now they are facing a loser's league, and the person in charge of the case immediately applied for an emergency arrest warrant from the district attorney.

The $1000 million extortion case involved a victim who was an honorary citizen of Los Angeles and a national hero of the United States—a favor handed to him on a silver platter.

…………

Inside the hotel room, Ben, Cassie, and Pete were packing their things.

The latter complained, "This is what you call a one-hit kill? Damn it, Ben, you haven't even figured out the child's biological father!"

Ben Affleck grabbed his hair hard. "How could I have imagined that a pregnant woman would make up such a lie? Jennifer Garner was a complete idiot when she was pregnant, her IQ dropped by at least 50 points! I asked Toni so many times, and she always gave the same answer: she and Martin did this and that in the room!"

Pete angrily retorted, "You're a piece of trash and an idiot! You've wasted so much of my time and money!"

"Do I want this? Do you think I want this?" Big Ben retorted, seeing that he was being blamed. "You've heard what she said, and you've even given her advice. Haven't you noticed?"

Pete retorted, "Because I fucking believe you!"

Cassie quickly stepped between the two and said, "Stop arguing. I think Tony, this kind of crazy fan, might be trapped in some kind of crazy fantasy, mistaking the fantasy for reality, and even believing it to be true, which is why we didn't notice."

Big Ben, who wasn't known for his good temper, said, "Where's that idiot? I'm going to kill her! Make her regret it..."

Pete suddenly remembered something: Martin Davis had called the police because Tony was extorting money.

With a successful DNA match in the paternity test, the so-called alarm call was obviously a joke.

The problem is that John Jr.'s DNA doesn't match Martin's at all, and Toni's former sister revealed the truth on the spot!

Pete was already somewhat uneasy, and now sensing that trouble was about to break, he didn't bother arguing with the Affleck brothers anymore. He grabbed his phone and bag and said, "I have something to do, I'm leaving now. I'll contact you later."

He opened the door and turned into the corridor. As soon as he entered the elevator, a large group of people in plainclothes and police uniforms came towards him.

Pete turned around and ran back, throwing down his bag to reach for his phone, trying to call for help.

"LAPD! Let me see your hands!" someone shouted from behind. "Stop! Let me see your hands!"

Pete glanced back and saw several men with their hands on their gun holsters. He quickly stopped, raised his hands, and said, "Don't attack! I'll cooperate!"

Two strong agents came over, twisted Pete's hands behind his back, and handcuffed him.

At the same time, the accompanying waiter knocked on the door of the room where Ben and Cassie were.

When Cassie saw unfamiliar faces, and there was more than one person, he instinctively reached for the baseball bat behind the door.

"Don't move! LAPD, let me see your hands!" A burly man rushed forward and tackled Cassie.

Another burly black man, weighing over 200 pounds, rushed to Ben Wallace like a running back in professional football, tackled him to the ground, and pressed his iron-like knees and calves against Ben Wallace's back and neck.

Big Ben tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth, he found it difficult to breathe and started coughing repeatedly.

Before he could speak, his hand was forcefully twisted behind his back and a shiny silver bracelet was put on his wrist.

Other LAPD members immediately came and searched the room, taking away all of Ben Affleck, Cassie, and Pete's belongings.

The three people were also escorted into the elevator.

Ivan waited at the hotel entrance and even "kindly" made phone calls to notify many of his industry peers to come over.

"What news could possibly compare to the illegitimate child scandal?" someone said. "Many people are going to Beverly Hills to interview Stuart Townsend."

Another person said, "We can't get into the North Side of Sunset Boulevard."

Ivan pointed to the hotel entrance: "Look, someone's coming out."

Several people raised their cameras and video cameras and gathered around.

Three police cars then drove up.

Two burly men in LAPD uniforms led the way, exiting the hotel first.

Immediately afterwards, three people wearing handcuffs were brought out one after another.

The flash went off, and the reporter who pressed the shutter was quite surprised, saying, "Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, and Brad Pitt?"

"That's right, it's them!"

Another person asked, "Ivan, why did the LAPD arrest them?"

While filming, Ivan said, "How should I know?"

Three people walked past the camera.

Pete fared slightly better, except his hand was twisted behind his back.

Ben and Casillas were bruised and battered, looking extremely disheveled.

The reporter with the camera shouted, "Officer, why are you arresting them?"

The officer in charge stopped and replied, "Three suspects are involved in a major extortion case involving up to $1000 million!"

The reporter blinked, feeling that the number $1000 million seemed strangely familiar.

The officer in charge waved his hand, put the suspect into the police car, and quickly left the scene.

The reporter realized what was happening: "Wasn't Toni Fairman blackmailing Martin for $1000 million?"

Another reporter suddenly remembered: "Yes, it's $1000 million!"

The rumors surrounding Martin and Pitt have been widely circulated within the industry and among those who cover entertainment news. One reporter remarked, "Could the Affleck brothers and Brad Pitt be the masterminds behind the Toni incident?"

The other reporter, however, ran towards his motorcycle; this was big news, and could fetch a lot of money.

The others realized what was happening and got into their cars, leaving the area.

Ivan got in the car and drove a short distance before finding a place to stop. He dialed Bruce's number and said, "Those three bastards were just arrested by the LAPD. I filmed it. When do you have time? I'll come over and give it to you."

"Wait a bit, no rush," Bruce said to Martin after hanging up the phone.

Martin stood on the third-floor terrace of his house, looking out at his neighbor's house, and said, "Why hasn't anything happened yet?"

Elizabeth was quite exasperated with him: "Your thoughts are so wicked; you always have such a penchant for these perverse pleasures."

Martin retorted, "I saw Stewart kick our dumpster with my own eyes, he kicked it so hard it was deformed!"

"You can stay here and watch," Elizabeth said as she came downstairs. "I'll go tell the kitchen to prepare dinner; Leo and Jack will probably be staying for dinner."

Thomas then went upstairs and said, "Briony, Cadillac, Nokia, and Cartier have all called to express their support for you."

Bruce chuckled. "Wait until the results are confirmed before you support us?"

"That's normal," Martin said matter-of-factly. "After all, it's just a business partnership, unlike the deep-rooted relationship we have with Coca-Cola."

Coca-Cola expressed its support for him from the very beginning.

Thomas added, "Ali also called, and the agency will fully support you."

All of this had been kept quiet until now that things have settled, and Martin is surrounded by good people again.

After watching for a while, Martin's phone suddenly rang. The caller was Charlize Theron!

(End of this chapter)