Cassandra Hocklap was Kazir's ex-wife.
She once embarked on this dazzling world with a dream of becoming a star, naively believing that her dreams were within reach, thanks to her beautiful face.
However, the moment she truly stepped through the gates of Hollywood, her brilliant star dream instantly shattered into fragments.
Only then did she realize, with horror, that beautiful women were as common as cattle in this place, and each of them was more talented than her.
Cassandra couldn't act at all; in front of the camera, her expressions were as stiff as a lifeless brick—her crying didn't look like crying, her smiling didn't look like smiling, and even her anger appeared awkward, as if she was naturally at odds with the camera.
Rewind to 1988, when she was a decorative presence on the set of "rain man."
It was then that she first met Kazir.
At the time, Kazir's seriousness during work and the confident gleam in his eyes instantly captivated Cassandra's heart.
Although she was two years older than Kazir, love knows no bounds, and the two naturally got together and later married.
In the beginning, Cassandra genuinely loved Kazir.
But as days passed, Kazir became entirely engrossed in his work, often returning home only every other day.
What was worse, his appearance gradually changed—the once tall and handsome young man slowly transformed into a decadent Fat Man under the erosion of time and the pressure of work.
As Cassandra watched the man before her slowly change, her initial affection for him faded like smoke blown away by the wind.
During the lonely and unbearable days, Cassandra began to grow restless.
She first secretly hooked up with Kazir's agent, and later, she completely let herself go, getting involved with a wealthy old man—the old man was both a producer and an investor, and he also operated a film and television company.
After divorcing Kazir, she unhesitatingly moved in with this old flame.
It was only then that she suddenly realized: beauty could indeed catch big fish, especially wealthy ones.
During the divorce, Cassandra truly took advantage of everything.
She took half of Kazir's savings and also occupied the house; at that time, she truly felt like a winner in life, having won big.
She planned to continue using this trick to swindle money, so she desperately coaxed her old flame to marry her.
But she never expected that he didn't take her seriously at all, and once he had enough fun, he ruthlessly kicked her out.
"Hmph, forget it."
Cassandra glanced disdainfully at the lawyer, her eyes darting, and said, "You must have a way to get some money from Kazir, right? I just bought a Chanel bag with my credit card, and the bill hasn't been paid yet. You need to help me figure out a way for this money."
The lawyer nodded, a slight, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips: "Of course there's a way."
He already had an idea in his mind of how to squeeze some money out of Kazir, but he wasn't sure if doing so would ultimately benefit either of them.
"...We can contact other film companies; perhaps someone wants to hear your'story.' If you tell the story well, you might be able to make a fortune from it."
The lawyer said slowly.
Alas, money always makes people show their true, ugliest colors.
They say greed is the root of all evil, but is it the fault of money, or the covetousness deep within human hearts?
"Thank you, lawyer... When it's done, you'll definitely be rewarded."
Cassandra said, deliberately tugging down her neckline to reveal a hint of alluring cleavage.
"Hehe, beauty really does work. It's great to be born pretty; it always comes in handy at critical moments."
She secretly gloated, a smug expression on her face...The Children's Association is an organization dedicated to managing the rights of minors.
Hollywood has a long history of child star abuse, with Macaulay Culkin from "Home Alone" being the most famous example.
His parents treated him like a cash cow, exploiting his value to the fullest.
His father also frequently committed domestic violence, forcing him to take on numerous roles, completely disregarding whether he could handle it at such a young age.
Later, Macaulay became so depressed in adulthood that he almost committed suicide—but when it came to that point, no one from the association was seen, as if the incident had never happened.
Kazir was rubbing his temples at this moment, feeling utterly frustrated and in a tangled mess.
Today was the third day of filming; they had only shot five scenes in total, and all five scenes involved a baby. The slow progress was all thanks to the Children's Association—that's right, someone had called them to the set.
Actually, Kazir wasn't against the association's original intention; he knew children indeed needed protection.
But these people came to the set with ill intentions, always making outrageous demands, simply causing trouble.
"What is this thing? Throw it away immediately! It's bad for the child!"
A short-haired woman with thick glasses was yelling at the crew members, her voice as sharp as a knife.
Kazir sighed helplessly, walked over, and said in as calm a tone as possible, "Madam, this is a humidifier. It increases air humidity to prevent the child's skin from drying out."
"Humidifier? Never heard of it! I see it as something that emits smoke; throw it out immediately! It's bad for the child!"
The woman craned her neck, appearing unyielding. No matter how Kazir explained, she simply wouldn't listen.
Kazir glanced at producer Enrico, who sighed and nodded.
Arguing with such an unreasonable person was simply a waste of time.
"Alright."
Kazir helplessly signaled the crew members to move the humidifier out.
"Mr. Gray, I must remind you that this child can only work a maximum of three hours a day!"
The woman remained relentless. According to regulations, minor actors could only work between 5 AM and 10 PM, but her demands were much stricter than the rules.
"Are you his mother?" Kazir finally couldn't help but ask, suppressing his anger.
"What did you say?" The woman instantly bristled, her eyes wide as copper bells.
"I said you have no right to dictate here. We signed a contract, and every clause is legal and compliant. If you don't believe me, ask the child's mother."
Kazir was truly fed up with this farce, brimming with suppressed anger. This was the real reason for the slow filming progress.
"Someone must be deliberately causing trouble, sending such a meddlesome person to obstruct us."
Kazir gritted his back teeth, fire in his eyes, wishing he could drag out the person who deliberately caused trouble and teach him a harsh lesson.