Father York's office was on the third floor, and Astrid preferred to take the stairs, opting for a bit of exercise instead of using the elevator.
As she descended, even before reaching the third floor, she overheard voices from below.
She carefully slowed her pace, tiptoeing down the stairs, catching snippets of the conversation. "I'm telling you, my method works. Why won't you listen?"
"It won't work. She's skilled in medicine. What if she finds out?"
"This stuff is colorless and tasteless. How would she find out? When did you become so timid?"
Astrid crouched down, straining to hear more clearly. It had to be Linda and her clique of troublemakers.
Great. It seemed Elio's influence wasn't intimidating enough; these petty nuisances were still plotting.
Taking a few more careful steps down, she heard the exchange more distinctly.
Linda's voice: "But I'm scared of Elio. When he visited the set today, his words were clearly a warning."
"I called my dad. He said whatever I do, I should steer clear of Elio; otherwise, even he can't protect me."
Darius retorted, "Are you stupid? Elio's back in Sunhaven. You think he's omnipotent?"
"This film set is chaotic, with extras of questionable character. Even if something happens, there's no need to investigate. No matter how capable Elio is, if we erase all the evidence, it'll be impossible for him to find anything when he arrives!"
"But..." Linda hesitated, "Astrid seems to know a lot of strange things. My agent advised me not to mess with her, so I think we should just let it be."
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