Chapter eleven: Slap in the face

Serena’s POV

First off, I didn’t even know she was here until a few minutes ago. Someone from your board tipped me off,” Ethan said, wearing a smirk that begged to be wiped off.

“What? You think this is some stupid company drama?” Lucas stepped forward, jaw sharp with anger.

I grabbed his arm before he got too close. “I’ll handle him.”

“Serena…”

But I didn’t let him finish.

My palm cracked across Ethan’s face so hard the sound echoed through the hallway. A full-blown, soul-resetting slap. His head snapped sideways, and for a second, even he looked confused by reality.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” he barked, lunging toward me like he forgot who he was standing in front of.

Lucas didn’t move. He just gave Ethan one look.

One.

Ethan froze mid-step like someone unplugged him.

“You called me a murderer?” I said, stepping forward. My voice wasn’t loud. It was sharp. “You told the internet I was drunk driving? You know damn well I haven’t touched alcohol once since we got married.”

Ethan opened his mouth, but I steamrolled him.

“And the day the accident happened? I called you more times than I’ve ever called anyone. And where were you? At Mia’s son’s birthday party. Laughing. Dancing. Eating cake. While your own son was bleeding to death.”

He stared at me, jaw tight, fists clenching like I was embarrassing him rather than telling the truth.

“Mia was important—”

The second slap landed before he even finished the sentence. This one knocked his smirk straight into the next century.

“Say that again.” My voice scraped out of me like glass.

He blinked hard. “I won’t let you talk about her like—”

“Mia?” I scoffed. “That woman who doesn’t even know who her child’s father is? She was more important than your son’s life?”

A flush crept up his neck, anger or shame, I didn’t care.

“I won’t let you speak that way about her,” Ethan snapped.

I took one more step, ready to give him a third slap just for being stupid enough to defend his side piece over his dead child.

But Lucas wrapped a hand around my wrist and pulled me back, gentle but firm.

“He’s not worth it,” Lucas murmured, cupping my face so my eyes stayed on him instead of the man who ruined everything. “Remember what we talked about. Stay focused. Find the truth. Make them pay for it properly.”

My chest rose and fell too fast, but I nodded.

Lucas turned to Ethan, expression carved from ice. “We have no business together. Last I checked, we’re stepbrothers, not family. If you have anything that needs my signature, send it through my secretary.”

Ethan snorted. “You mean the secretary that quit two days ago?”

Lucas froze.

My stomach clenched.

Ethan smiled again, softer this time, uglier. “Maybe you should pay more attention to your company, Lucas. Things are changing without you.”

Lucas didn’t show a single reaction, but I felt the shift in him. Tight. Controlled. Dangerous.

Ethan straightened his shirt, glanced at me one last time, and said, “Next time, Serena, keep your hands to yourself.”

Lucas stepped forward, voice flat and lethal. “Next time, you won’t walk away so easily.”

Ethan walked off, pretending he wasn’t shaking.

The moment he turned the corner, Lucas pulled me close.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“No,” I breathed. “But I’m done letting him paint me as something I’m not.”

Lucas looked proud. Protective. A little scared for me.

“This war isn’t quiet anymore,” he said.

“I noticed.”

“Good,” he whispered. “Then we’re ready for whatever comes next.”

 “What’d you want to do about your secretary?” I asked, still trying to process the fact that the woman vanished without a trace.

“I’ll find another. There’s always a replacement.” Lucas spoke like he was discussing furniture, not a human being who had access to everything from his schedules to confidential files.

“You’re not worried she’ll sell company secrets to people like Ethan?” I pushed, because this man was calm in situations no normal person would be.

Lucas slid his thumb along my hand, still keeping me tucked close like Ethan might return with backup. “There are consequences attached to that. Thousands of dollars in fines. Legal contracts. Non-disclosures. Layers on layers.”

“That doesn’t always stop people,” I murmured.

He looked down at me finally, eyes cutting like dark glass. “It stops them when they know I’m the one enforcing the consequences.”

A chill slid through me, not fear… but awareness.

Lucas didn’t bluff.

Lucas didn’t warn twice.

Before I could respond, he lifted my chin with a knuckle.

“Serena,” he said quietly, “you’ve had enough adrenaline for one day. Let me take you home.”

“I’m not running,” I said.

“I know,” he replied. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rest.”

His thumb brushed my jaw, and something softened in his expression. Something rare. Something only I ever saw.

Come,” he whispered.

We began walking toward the private elevator again, the hallway empty now, the buzz of the confrontation fading but not forgotten. My pulse was still racing, my hands still tingling from the slap I’d delivered like my heart was trying to claw out of my ribcage.

As the doors opened and we stepped inside, I finally breathed out. Lucas pressed the button for the top floor, leaned back against the mirrored wall, and exhaled like he’d been holding himself together with duct tape and reputation.

He didn’t speak until the elevator started moving.

“He shouldn’t have shown up here,” Lucas said. “Not today. Not ever.”

“He wanted to rattle us.”

“He failed,” Lucas muttered.

I raised a brow. “You sure? Because your jaw was working overtime.”

That broke him. A tiny smirk tugged at his lips. “Maybe a little.”

The elevator dinged softly.

As the doors opened, Lucas slipped his hand into mine again, not for show this time. Not for control. Just connection.

“Serena,” he murmured, “whatever he tries next… we handle it together.”

I swallowed, feeling the truth of it settle inside me. Solid. Real. Terrifying.

“Together,” I said.

He nodded once, satisfied.

Then he led me out of the elevator like the world outside was already planning its next attack, and he was just waiting to punch it in the face.