Chapter 667: Movie Emperor
Hearing that ridiculous accusation, Jonah simply rolled his eyes.
’What absolute nonsense.’
No one understood Theodore’s acting ability better than Jonah himself.
Theodore genuinely deserved every resource he received.
As for Jonah, he knew his own limits. Compared to Theodore, his acting skills were still lacking.
Moreover, every film, endorsement, and opportunity Ms. Dawn had given him had been top-tier resources that countless actors could only dream of obtaining.
Without her support, even if he struggled for another five years, he might have remained nothing more than a somewhat famous celebrity.
Becoming a Movie King would’ve been nearly impossible. Looking calmly at Owen, Jonah smiled faintly.
"I’m sorry..."
He deliberately paused. "...Ex-manager. I honestly don’t think I can help you."
Hearing those words, Owen’s face immediately darkened. He slammed his palm against the table.
"Don’t be so ungrateful, Jonah! I know plenty of your dirty secrets! I’ll expose everything! I’ll tell the public how you used to beg wealthy investors for resources!"
Jonah merely laughed.
If this conversation had taken place before, perhaps he really would’ve been frightened.
But now, he wasn’t worried in the slightest. Ms. Dawn had personally assured him long ago.
As long as he remained loyal, she would handle every stain from his past.
There was absolutely nothing for him to fear. Leaning comfortably against the sofa, Jonah lazily smiled.
"Sure. Go ahead. I’d honestly love to see exactly what kind of dirt you think you still have on me."
Owen abruptly stood up.
"That’s your final answer? Fine. If you’re so eager to see how badly things can turn out, I’ll happily show you."
With those words, he angrily turned around and strode toward the office door. He deliberately slowed his footsteps.
He fully expected Jonah to panic. He expected Jonah to call him back.
But several seconds passed. Then nearly half a minute. The office remained completely silent.
Jonah neither followed him nor stopped him.
Standing beside the door, Owen’s confidence immediately began crumbling.
Unable to bear the awkward silence, he deliberately coughed.
Jonah finally looked up. Pretending to be surprised, he smiled.
"Hmm? Why are you still standing there? If I were in your shoes, I would’ve left a long time ago."
He shrugged casually. "I honestly don’t think I’d be able to endure this level of embarrassment."
Those words pierced Owen’s pride like countless needles.
’Calm down, I have to endure this... I need this job if I want to survive.’
Taking a deep breath, he forcibly swallowed his humiliation. After several moments of silence, he finally sighed.
"Jonah, how about this? I’m willing to hand over fifty percent of my salary. As long as you help me remain in this industry. I just want to survive."
The moment those words left his mouth, Jonah burst into laughter. His laughter echoed throughout the spacious office.
"A few minutes ago, you were boasting that you could make me the number one Movie Emperor."
He slowly leaned forward.
"But now, you’re admitting that you can’t even survive in this industry by yourself?"
He shook his head while laughing.
"Oh my God... Mr. Owen... Your habit of lying truly hasn’t changed at all."
Owen’s face instantly turned bright red.
He silently stared at Jonah, who sat comfortably upon the luxurious chair like a king seated upon his throne.
For a brief moment, his mind drifted back to the past.
Back then, the positions between them had been completely reversed.
It had been Jonah who begged. And Owen who held absolute control.
He still vividly remembered the first time he had forced Jonah to accompany one of his wealthy female clients.
The woman had been considerably older than Jonah. Jonah had desperately refused. He had pleaded countless times.
"I don’t want to do this. Please... don’t force me."
But Owen hadn’t cared. Money mattered far more than Jonah’s dignity. Eventually... Jonah had been dragged to meet the client.
When the woman tried to force herself onto him, Jonah nearly lost control and almost killed her on the spot.
Only then did Owen step forward. Instead of protecting Jonah, he threatened him.
"If you don’t obey... I’ll make sure your family pays the price."
Those words became the chains that imprisoned 14-year-old Jonah.
He had no choice but to spend the night with that woman. Afterward, Owen noticed something.
Jonah had indeed brought him enormous profits.
From that day onward, Owen repeatedly pressured him to accompany more wealthy clients.
However, by the third incident, Jonah finally reached his breaking point.
His eyes had been completely devoid of hope as he stared directly at Owen.
"If you keep forcing me to sleep with other people... I’ll kill myself."
His voice had been frighteningly calm.
"And when I’m dead, you’ll lose the most profitable artist under your management."
Those words genuinely frightened Owen. A dead celebrity couldn’t make money.
Reluctantly, he took a step back. From then onward, he stopped openly forcing Jonah into bed with clients.
Instead, he merely forced Jonah to spend time alone with them.
Sometimes for an hour. Sometimes two.
What happened during those private meetings depended entirely upon Jonah himself.
If he managed to escape their advances, he was fortunate.
But if one of those clients insisted on taking things further, then that became nothing more than Jonah’s own misfortune.
Jonah had always been clever. Whenever he found himself trapped with those wealthy clients, he would deliberately play the victim.
Sometimes he would tell heartbreaking stories about his family.
Other times, he would pretend to be emotionally fragile, making the clients pity him instead of forcing themselves upon him.
More often than not, his tactics worked. Of course, there were still certain unfortunate occasions when he couldn’t escape.
During those moments, Owen had merely laughed. After all, he wasn’t the one being humiliated.
He wasn’t the one whose dignity was trampled beneath someone else’s feet. Back then, Owen had found Jonah’s suffering entertaining.
Now, however, everything had changed. He was the one enduring humiliation.
He was even forced to deal with several disgusting perverts simply to survive in the entertainment industry.
Only after personally experiencing that despair did he finally begin to understand, just how miserable Jonah must have felt all those years ago.
Thinking about it, Owen slowly frowned. ’Exactly when did this little beggar’s fate begin to change?’
His eyes narrowed. ’Was it after he met Ms. Dawn?’
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. ’I should never have allowed him to get close to her.’
A sinister smile gradually spread across Owen’s face. Looking directly at Jonah, he suddenly laughed.
"Jonah, you don’t want to leave Ms. Dawn’s side because you’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?"
Jonah raised an eyebrow. He remained completely silent. Mistaking that silence for guilt, Owen became even more confident.
He sneered. "Back then, you acted so righteous. You kept saying that you’d never sleep with anyone just to obtain resources."
He slowly crossed his arms. "And now look at you. You’re doing exactly the same thing. Don’t you feel embarrassed?"
For several long seconds, Jonah simply stared at him. Then... he suddenly burst into laughter.
His laughter became louder and louder until tears almost formed in the corners of his eyes.
"Seriously..."
He wiped away the tiny tear that had appeared from laughing too hard.
"Mr. Owen, I really hate to disappoint you. But I’ve never slept with Ms. Dawn. I honestly wish she’d pay that much attention to me."
He sighed dramatically. "But unfortunately, there are simply too many talented people around her."
As he spoke, Jonah casually stood up. Walking past Owen, he lightly patted him on the shoulder. "Anyway, you really picked the wrong way to provoke me."
Without another word, he calmly walked toward the exit. This time, Owen finally panicked. "Jonah! Are you really not going to help me?"
Jonah stopped walking. His warm expression instantly disappeared. Without even turning around, he replied,
"After what you just said about Ms. Dawn... No. I won’t help you."
He slowly glanced over his shoulder. "And don’t worry. I’ll make sure Ms. Dawn hears every single word you just spoke."
Those simple words struck Owen like a bolt of lightning.
His legs nearly gave out beneath him.
Meanwhile... Jonah left the office without looking back.
...................................
As expected...the moment Jonah met Aurora, he honestly repeated the entire conversation.
Naturally, he intentionally softened several of Owen’s insults. He didn’t want Aurora to feel uncomfortable after hearing such filthy accusations.
Unfortunately... even the watered-down version was enough. Aurora’s eyes instantly turned cold.
A dangerous glint flashed within them.
Without even hesitating, she immediately issued an order.
"Blacklist Owen. Completely. From today onward... He is banned from every project under my studio!"
Recently... Aurora’s entertainment company had been expanding at an astonishing rate.
Every artist she had personally nurtured was dominating the entertainment industry. Dorothy, Theodore, and Jonah.
One after another, they continued producing blockbuster movies, winning prestigious awards, and breaking countless records.