Chapter 12

Inside her private office, Serena was reviewing a draft contract for the international distribution of The Betrayal. Her success in securing global investors had sent her name soaring once again. But the calm was disrupted when her office door swung open without a knock.

Vanes stepped in. She looked nothing like her usual self. Gone were the elegant silk dresses and flawless makeup. Her face was gaunt, her eyes swollen, and her trembling hands clutched her expensive handbag tightly. Serena’s skyrocketing success, combined with Dewangga’s crumbling reputation, had begun to seep into Vanes’s life like poison.

“Leave, Vanes. I don’t receive uninvited guests,” Serena said without lifting her gaze from the document in front of her.

“You have to stop that film, Serena!” Vanes shouted, her voice sharp and cracking. She walked closer to the desk, her breath uneven. “Because of that film, Dewangga has gone crazy! He keeps yelling at me, blaming me for all his company’s losses. Everyone looks at me like I’m trash!”

Slowly, Serena raised her head. She looked at Vanes with a flat expression—one far more painful than any insult. “Isn’t that the role you chose for yourself? Being a mistress and destroying someone else’s home? I’m just documenting it as art.”

“You think you’ve won?!” Vanes let out a bitter laugh, one filled with desperation. She leaned closer, her voice dropping into a venomous whisper. “Remember this, Serena. I may lose my luxury, but you… you could lose something far more valuable. Clarisa still goes to that school, right? Accidents can happen to children anytime. A brake failure… or a stranger taking her away while you’re busy with your worthless film…”

In that instant, the atmosphere in the room froze. The air grew heavy. That threat was the one line no one in the world should ever cross if they wanted to survive in front of Serena Zea.

Without warning, Serena rose from her chair so fast it toppled backward. Before Vanes could react, Serena’s hand shot forward, gripping her throat tightly and slamming her against the wall with a loud thud.

“Ugh!” Vanes gasped, her eyes widening in terror as her oxygen began to thin. She clawed at Serena’s hand, but Serena’s strength seemed multiplied by the raw fury of a mother protecting her child.

“You… dare… threaten… my daughter?” Serena hissed. Her face was only inches away now, her eyes blazing with a darkness no one had ever seen before. There was no softness left, no mercy.

“S-Serena… le-let… go…” Vanes choked, her fingers digging into Serena’s arm, but Serena didn’t budge.

“Listen carefully, Vanes,” Serena’s voice dropped into something low and deadly, creeping into Vanes’s ears like a death sentence. “I’ve let you play around with Dewangga. I let you live in that house and take my things. But the moment you used Clarisa’s name as a threat, you signed your own death warrant.”

Her grip tightened further, turning Vanes’s face a deep purplish red. Serena didn’t care if there were cameras or witnesses. The instinct of a lioness protecting her cub had overtaken all logic.

“Who do you think you are?” Serena stared straight into Vanes’s fear-filled eyes. “You’re nothing more than a pebble I happened to find in my old shoe. I used to be a producer who created stars from nothing. I could turn ordinary people into national icons. But there’s one more thing you should know…”

Serena pulled her closer, adding pressure to her throat.

“Now, I’m a producer who will create your destruction. I have proof of who the real father of the child in your womb is. I have medical records that will make Dewangga throw you out onto the streets with nothing. And if even a single strand of Clarisa’s hair is harmed, I will make sure you never see the sun again—whether from behind prison bars or from inside a grave.”

Then Serena shoved her aside, releasing her grip. Vanes collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air, clutching her neck now marked with red fingerprints. She trembled violently, staring at Serena as if she were a demon risen from hell.

Serena adjusted her slightly wrinkled blazer and returned to her desk. She picked up a wet tissue and slowly wiped her hands, as if she had just touched something filthy.

“Leave,” Serena said coldly without looking at her. “Pray that Clarisa remains safe every second. Because if anything happens to her—even if she simply trips over a pebble—you will be the first person I destroy.”

Vanes didn’t dare say another word. Her body still shaking, she scrambled to her feet and fled the room. Only then did she realize that the Serena she was facing now was no longer a weak woman she could intimidate with cheap theatrics.

Moments later, Reno entered after seeing Vanes run out in panic. “Ma’am? What happened? Should I call security?”

Serena took a deep breath, calming the adrenaline still racing through her veins. “No need, Reno. The trash took itself out.”

She then picked up her phone and called Haris Nasution. “Haris, I want Clarisa’s security doubled starting now. No gaps. Not even the smallest one.”

“What’s going on, Serena? Did they do something?” Haris’s voice sounded tense on the other end.

“Vanes is starting to lose her mind,” Serena replied, her eyes drifting to the film script on her desk. “She threatened Clarisa. I want to accelerate the release of her medical records to Dewangga. I want their ‘tragedy’ to begin earlier than scheduled.”

“Understood. I’ll take care of everything,” Haris responded firmly.

Serena ended the call. Her gaze shifted toward the office door, empty yet deadly. She had given her final warning. For her, the game of cat and mouse was over.

Now, it was time for the real slaughter.

“You asked for this, Vanes,” Serena whispered. “So don’t blame me when your story ends in tragedy.”