The next morning, the SVU officers arrived early, gently taking Lydia and Kendra's statements. Between the medical reports, traces of sedatives found in their blood, the bar's CCTV footage, and the hotel security recordings, the case was solid. The hotel receptionist, though initially hesitant, also gave a full statement confirming the men's actions that night. The hotel management later fired her for accepting the bribe and failing to report the incident.
With all the evidence compiled, the case against Dean and Mark was airtight. They were denied bail and remained in custody as the investigation continued.
The film's production team handled the scandal quietly, ensuring no word reached the public or the press as this could affect the film. Filming was however temporarily paused since the third lead and an assistant producer needed to be replaced.
After much deliberation, the production decided to hire a new assistant producer to replace Mark, and quietly rewrote the script to kill off Dean's character, who had been the third lead. The changes caused delays and reshuffling of the filming schedule, but the team had no choice. Everyone agreed it was the only way forward.
Leo and George both knew, deep down, that Scarlet had something to do with what happened that night. She had been too smug, too conveniently uninvolved, and the timing of her actions lined up too perfectly. But she'd been careful..no evidence, no witnesses, nothing to tie her to Mark and Dean, and what transpired at the hotel. It burned at George, watching her walk around the set like nothing had happened, flashing her perfect smile and pretending the scandal had never existed. He told himself that karma has its own way of finding people like her, and it would.
After the incident, George changed. He became fiercely protective of Lydia, unable to shake the image of finding her helpless that night. Without caring about what anyone thought, he made it his routine to pick her up and drop her off every single day. Lydia protested at first, saying she could handle herself, but George's tone left no room for argument. It was either that, or he tells Chris and her parents about the incident. She picked the first option, and it made him happy. He couldn't forgive himself if something like that ever happened again.