With Simon's words, the ward once again fell into a brief silence.
Simon's hint was already very obvious. His previous demand for $500,000 in compensation was merely a test to see if there was an instigator behind the incident, someone he might have already roughly identified.
Then, due to certain factors, or perhaps because the guy who was scared witless by last night's incident wanted to quickly resolve the matter, Simon easily received the $500,000 check.
But he clearly didn't care about the money.
He even loathed money gained this way.
He only wanted an eye for an eye.
From their first meeting, Simon had given Kathryn a sense of déjà vu, and he always managed to leave the deepest impression on her with every interaction.
During this time, although they only met occasionally and spoke on the phone sometimes, Kathryn had unconsciously come to regard Simon as one of her good friends.
At this moment, hearing Simon say this, a strong sense of worry arose in Kathryn's heart.
The large patches of bruises on Simon's body last night made her not care at all about him wanting to break the other person's leg again, and she even felt that punishing the other party more severely wouldn't be excessive.
However, Kathryn didn't want Simon to get into subsequent trouble because of this.
Anyone who could easily produce a $500,000 check could not be an unknown person. If Simon broke such a person's leg, it would be very difficult for him to get out of trouble afterward.
Moreover, Kathryn was vaguely worried about Simon's mental state.
Janette's madness was, in the final analysis, merely the somewhat reckless temperament of a spoiled little girl, indulged by her privileged living conditions.
But Kathryn clearly remembered that when they first met, Simon had indeed gotten onto the bus in Watsonville.
Then he said he was from the Watsonville Psychiatric Hospital.
And then, as a newcomer with no qualifications, he unexpectedly convinced Jonathan Friedman to sign him, becoming the only screenwriter under his name. She had originally introduced him, secretly hoping that Jonathan Friedman, as WMA's vice president, could arrange a regular agent for him. Being signed by WMA was already a rare opportunity for most people.
Immediately after, she saw the stunning 'Flight of the Bumblebee' on Venice Beach.
Subsequently, with his first contract with a film company, he received $200,000. Although there was some unspoken negotiation involved, for an 18-year-old, this was enough to make many people take notice.
Finally, there were even the five legs he broke last night.
That baseball bat also hit him, but it didn't cause much damage, yet he shattered the leg bones of those young men, which she also felt couldn't be done by an ordinary person.
All of this made Kathryn confirm one thing: Simon was a genius.
However.
Genius and madman have always been separated by just a fine line.
Thinking this, Kathryn unconsciously took one of Simon's hands, looked earnestly at the young man on the bed, and whispered, "Simon, promise me, let's stop here, okay?"
Simon was never a forgiving person.
However, at this moment, feeling the slight coolness of Kathryn's palm, Simon found that the strong hostility that had been building in his heart since last night gradually melted away like ice and snow.
After a moment of silence, under Kathryn's expectant gaze, Simon still nodded slightly: "Okay, Kathryn, I'll listen to you".
Hearing Simon say this, the somewhat tense atmosphere around them finally eased.
Janette, standing at the foot of the bed, also recovered from Simon's indifferent gaze, which had been devoid of any emotion. Noticing that the two people's hands were still clasped together, Janette blinked and suddenly wanted to step forward, pull Kathryn's hand away, and replace it with her own.
George Norman, who had been silently playing the role of an observer, recalled the scene from earlier and the current situation, and suddenly felt that his niece would probably be very happy to hear this outcome.
For some reason, Jennifer, who had enthusiastically rushed to handle this case with him this morning, had been very depressed all morning after hearing that the young man demanded $500,000 in compensation, and only remained silent when he questioned her.
"Well, everyone," seeing that everything was settled, George Norman took the initiative to say, "Since that's the case, I think I should take my leave".
Kathryn heard George Norman speak and realized that she had been holding the boy's hand for too long. She quickly released it as if nothing had happened, no longer looking at Simon on the hospital bed, and stood up, saying, "Mr. Norman, I'll see you out".
George Norman nodded, but took a business card from his suit pocket and formally handed it to Simon on the hospital bed, saying, "Mr. Westeros, this is my business card. If you need anything in the future, you can call me anytime".
Simon took the business card and nodded, saying, "I will, Mr. Norman. Also, I don't have a fixed address yet, so you can send today's bill to Kathryn for now, and she will pass it on to me".
Although Simon gave up the idea of further pursuing the matter due to Kathryn's persuasion. For people in this circle, Hollywood has always found it difficult to keep secrets.
In the following days, those who needed to know about this matter basically understood the whole story.
Most of the people Simon had met since coming to Los Angeles also specifically came to the hospital to visit him. After Fox received the news, David Giler, the producer of 'The Butterfly Effect', also appeared at the hospital.
In addition, the five young men whose legs Simon had broken also became the focus of many people's attention.
Many people knew that these five young men were Matthew Broderick's close friends. Connecting this to the recent series of events, it was not difficult for everyone to deduce some of the truth.
Jonathan Friedman also specifically discussed this matter with Simon during his visit to the hospital.
It was said that Norman Brokaw had even issued a informal gag order, but it completely failed to stop the spread of various speculations. At the same time, the agent's words subtly advised Simon not to pursue the matter further.
Since he had already made a decision, Simon naturally wouldn't go back on it.
Although the doctor hoped that Simon could stay in the hospital for at least a week for observation, Simon, who was admitted on Tuesday evening, only stayed until the weekend before being discharged.
The new week also included the first production meeting for 'The Butterfly Effect', and it was related to script revisions. Simon had stated on the day David Giler visited him that there was no need to adjust the time for him, and he would be there on time.