Chapter 6 Is Her Son Possessed?
The crew quickly scrambled to come up with a new plan. They hadn’t finalized the contract yet because they needed Xavier’s mom, Rachel, to give her approval first.
Xavier stood on a small hillside, the rundown house swaying in the background. He gently rested his hand on Yasmine’s head, keeping her close while he dialed Rachel’s number.
The call connected almost immediately. A cool voice answered, “I thought they’d take your phone away right off the bat.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Xavier replied, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
Then he continued, “Remember that program outline? The show wants me to stay at Andrew’s house. It’s way too fancy, and I know you wouldn’t want that for me. So, I decided to apply to stay somewhere a bit rougher instead…”
Rachel pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at the screen in disbelief. ‘The number is right, and the voice matches. So, is he possessed or something?’
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Xavier pressed. “Do you think I’ve lost my mind?”
“No, just trying to figure out what new stunt you’re pulling,” Rachel replied, her tone steady.
Xavier felt a lump form in his throat. “Are you really my mom?”
Rachel replied, “Of course, I’m your mom. I know you too well. Hand the phone to Danny. I want to speak to him.”
With a resigned shrug, Xavier turned and waved his hand at the director like he was calling a pet. “Danny, you got a call.”
Danny hurried over and got the phone eagerly.
“Find a quiet spot and explain everything clearly,” Rachel instructed from the other end. She knew that when Xavier was around, Danny wouldn’t dare to say too much.
Danny tensed up, grabbed the phone, and quickly stepped aside. In less than five minutes, he made things clear while highlighting Yasmine’s reputation.
“This girl has some serious personality issues. But for some reason, Xavier refuses to leave her side…” Danny sighed, adding, “Honestly, we’re all worried she might try to take advantage of the Sanchez family.”
Finally, he asked, carefully weighing his words, “What are you saying? Are we just supposed to ignore this?”
Rachel was a painter, but she had the attitude of a tough businesswoman. After hearing Danny’s concerns about Yasmine, she replied coolly, “Let it be. If he can’t handle this minor issue, he’s not ready to inherit the Sanchez family fortune.”
Danny was at a loss for words. Just like that, the decision was made, and the contract was swiftly drafted.
“Wait, let me see that,” Xavier said, reaching for the freshly printed contract. After skimming through it, he frowned. “Are you seriously planning to sign this with her grandfather?”
“Yeah. Yasmine’s still so young. Even if she signs, it won’t have any legal weight,” Danny replied.
“No way.” Xavier shot down the idea. He hadn’t spoken much with Barnaby, but he instinctively felt uneasy about him.
“Uh… how much are we talking about?” Yasmine asked softly.
The crew exchanged surprised glances, thinking maybe she wanted money just like her grandfather did.
Xavier scanned the contract, saying, “Seven thousand… Hold up, that’s way too low.” He turned to the crew. “Are you trying to insult her?”
The crew members went silent, and one of them replied, lowering his voice to convince Xavier, “You can’t break the market rules like this.”
“I’m the one putting up the money. I want to do it. Any problems with that?” Xavier insisted.
The crew member shook his head. “It’s not that. You just need to think this through. Dropping a big amount of cash on someone from a poor, isolated place could bring more trouble than good. It might make her a target, and…”
Before he could mention the risk of greed, Xavier was already convinced. Although he wasn’t sure Yasmine truly understood what seven thousand really meant, he turned to her and asked, “Is this enough for you?”
Yasmine looked back at him, her pupils widening slightly, her eyes shining. She whispered, “Can we not give the money to my grandfather?”
“Then who are we giving it to?” one crew member chimed in.
This scene was caught on camera, and soon the comments started flooding in:
[Is she really trying to pocket the money? What a greedy kid.]
[I can’t believe the Sanchez family is allowing Xavier to interact with her. It just doesn’t make sense.]
“Let’s give Mandy, Henry…” Yasmine named a few people.
“Why are we giving this to them?” The crew member’s voices slightly wavered with surprise.
“Dad took money from them before he left. I need to pay them back,” Yasmine said earnestly.
[Oh my! Her dad was that bad?]
[What a rough life for such a young girl.]
[No excuses. No matter how messed up her family is, it doesn’t justify stealing and lying.]
“Just do what she says,” Xavier chimed in, looking serious.
“Got it.” The crew shook off their shock and gazed at the small, somewhat frail Yasmine with sympathy.
“By the way, we’ve given Barnaby three hundred earlier to compensate for Yasmine’s emotional loss,” one crew member added, hesitant.
Xavier frowned. “What? If it’s for Yasmine, why not just give it to her directly?”
The crew fell silent, embarrassed.
Xavier crouched down to Yasmine and asked, “Do you know anything about this?”
Yasmine shook her head, confused.
Xavier didn’t say more. He decided to get that money back for Yasmine. Just because she was young didn’t mean the others could take advantage of her—her grandpa really needed to step up.
Just then, Danny approached carefully and said, “Rachel asked us to keep your phone.”
Xavier felt his temper flare. But remembering he was there for Yasmine, and that the crew was cooperating, he held back and handed over his phone.
Danny sighed with relief. “If you want to use your phone, you’ll have to earn points.”
“Points?” Xavier knew this was about the rules for the next part of the show—something to make it more interesting.
Danny handed him the rules. Xavier glanced down and read—early wake-up, 1 point; pick mushrooms or the like to exchange money, $3 = 1 point; behave well at school, 1 point; volunteer in the reading corner, 1 point… 10 points could be exchanged for 1 minute of phone use.
[LOL, Rachel must really have low expectations for Xavier if “behave well at school” gets him points.]
[These rules are harsh. One minute isn’t even enough for a quick phone call.]
[Xavier didn’t lose it? That’s surprising!]
“This is taking forever,” Xavier grumbled, frowning. “My mom wants me to be nicer. Do nice things get any points for that?”
Danny paused, weighing his words. “Yeah, they do.”
“Alright, make that a rule.” Xavier raised his chin defiantly.
Danny quickly grabbed a pen from his assistant and jotted down the new rule.
Xavier pointed at Yasmine. “Does this count as being nice?”
‘Well, this is his real intention, right?’ Danny paused before replying, “Yeah, it counts.”
“One point is oaky. The shoes are my compensation, so that doesn’t count,” Xavier said, sounding generous.
Danny sighed in relief. ‘Thank goodness! If Xavier kept trying to be nice to Yasmine, those points would really add up.’
Just then, Yasmine raised her hand, her voice weak, “I have to go to school now.”
Xavier’s tired expression shifted to excitement. “Let’s go together.”
*****
Jessica asked the servant for some supplies and got busy on a drawing. She chose soft, muted colors that wouldn’t hit the mainstream for a few more years, but the mix turned out to be beautiful.
The online viewers were shocked. [Wow, she’s talented, definitely not a girl from some poor, distant area.]
Jessica didn’t see the praise online, but she could imagine the compliments flowing in. She smiled to herself, ‘Mrs. Sanchez is a painter… Maybe this art can win her over.’
She took her drawing downstairs and called out softly. “When will Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez be back, Francis?”
Francis’ expression was as calm as ever. “They won’t be back today.”
Feeling let down, Jessica headed back to her room and slipped into the bathroom—the only place without cameras. She quietly retrieved the phone Andrew had snuck to her before she left. She had to check in on the show if Xavier was doing well at her home.
But as soon as she powered it on—in silent mode—she noticed 39 missed calls, all from home. Her heart sank. ‘What’s going on?’
