Chapter 1314

Stella was bubbling with excitement on the phone. "Abigail, guess what? The TV series I was supposed to work on got shelved because of issues with the investors. This means I'm available now." Abigail could not help but chuckle. "You're actually happy about a show being canceled?" Stella eagerly explained, "Yes, because it opens up my schedule for your series! I've talked it over with my manager and we're all set with Ripplewood Films. They're planning to start shooting your series right after New Year. Since you're the writer, we'll be hanging out on set together all the time." Hearing this, Abigail felt a rush of excitement; her very first television series script was about to come to life. "That's awesome. I'm super excited about it." Stella then asked, "Hey, when are you due? I want to make sure everything fits into the schedule." Abigail replied, "I'm due in three months. Don't worry, I'll still be able to work." Considering this, Stella said, "You'll be pretty far along in your pregnancy in a couple of months. Being on set might get tough for you. How about I tweak my schedule, and we start shooting after you've had the baby?" Abigail turned down Stella's offer, saying, "There are tons of people who have it tougher than us. They manage to work while pregnant, and I can too. Besides, my baby is super cooperative and never makes things difficult." Stella paused to consider this and then said, "Okay, then. I'll make sure we have a few extra hands on deck to help out, just to ensure you're not overdoing it." With a light laugh, Abigail replied, "You don't have to worry about that. I've got it covered. However, I do have some questions I need to ask you. Is now a good time?" Stella was curious. "What questions?" Abigail explained, "They're about the script." Stella, drawing on her extensive acting career, was quite knowledgeable about scripts and gave Abigail lots of helpful advice. Abigail was open to these insights and took them to heart. After their script discussion, they began to catch up on each other's lives. During their chat, Stella accidentally brought up Xander. "I've been out of the loop with Xander for a while. I'm curious if the rumors are true." Stella immediately regretted her words, wishing she could retract them. "Abigail..." Abigail simply smiled. "Zane Corporation's collapse, Nova's arrest, the uncertainty surrounding Xander—all these are buzzing in the news. I would've known regardless." Stella tentatively asked, "So you..." "I've moved on from him. His fate is no longer my concern." "That's good, as long as you're genuinely over him," Stella said, hoping Abigail was not just pretending to be okay. "Stella, I've got another call coming in. I need to take this," Abigail said. "Alright, we'll catch up later," Stella replied. Abigail got a call from Lloyd Sullivan, the head of development at Ripplewood Films. "Abigail, we've given your script a thorough review." "Oh?" Abigail answered. Lloyd went on, "You've obviously dedicated a lot of effort and time to this script. However, since you're not a seasoned screenwriter, there are quite a few issues with it." "What does that mean for the script?" asked Abigail. Lloyd clarified, "I'm calling to let you know that you won't need to work on this script any further. We're planning to hire a professional screenwriter to take over and refine it." "But when I handed in the draft a few days back, I didn't get this kind of feedback," Abigail said. Lloyd replied, "Everyone wanted to be supportive since you're new to this. They were trying not to squash your enthusiasm, so they chose their words carefully. That's all I needed to tell you. With New Year around the corner, let me wish you an early happy holiday." After the abrupt end to the call with Lloyd, Abigail was left with a swirl of questions and concerns. She could not help but feel she might have been taken advantage of. Stella had previously cautioned her about the frequency with which new screenwriters were removed from projects without any credit, urging her to be vigilant. Consequently, Abigail had meticulously documented all her dealings with Ripplewood Films, including the submission of her script. Abigail contemplated her next steps. If Ripplewood Films genuinely found her script unsatisfactory and chose not to pay her, she was ready to accept that as an unfortunate loss of time and effort. However, if they planned to use her script without fair compensation and attribute it to someone else, Abigail was determined to assert her rights. She would not allow them to exploit her work without a fight.