Another Scandal

*Selene's POV*

<6:30PM>

“Pablo darling.”I said sweetly when he picked up the phone.

A raspy smoke infested voice came from The end of the line. In between a croak and something that resembled happiness.

“Selene,my favourite girl.”

“Pablo, my favourite man.”I giggled back to fuel his ego. He was a mob leader who took care of shady business in my name with dreams and hopes that we will one day be in bed together. Poor hopes never came to fruition.

“I missed you darling–you don't call me anymore.”He complained.

That's because I don't need you anymore,I said internally but feigned sadness instead. “I'm so busy these days mi amor,if I had the time you would have grown bored of Me”

I heard a gunshot in the background and frowned.

“Are you occupied?”I asked,frowning.

“Never too busy for you…”he replied with a laugh. “So when are you going to visit me–”

“Soon.”I smiled,opening a notebook on my lap. “But I wanted a little favour from you.”

“Hm.”He groaned unhappily. “I have a lot on my plate now”

“Since when did you become so mean?”I questioned, checking out my nails. “I just want a bit of information–can you do that?”

“On the mafia?”

“Yes.I am looking for the identity of a man that goes by the name Saint Locke.”

The line goes quiet for a while and I hear a gunshot in the background and my heart drops to my stomach.

“What's going on down there?”

It's dead quiet.

My super anxious mind has started to believe that the Saint Locke guy figured I was looking for him in a span of just a few hours so he wanted to hunt my friends down to stop me.

“Hello?”I called firmly,trying to keep my voice together. “Pablo.Are you still on the line?”

A second later,his voice returned to my ear.

“Yes Selene..”he says breathlessly. “I'm back “like I said,a lot on my plate.Who were you asking about again?”

I drew in a deep breath and repeated my question.

“I know the name but not the face,very very private man.”he replies. “No one actually knows who he is.”

I sighed. “Do you think it's a Torchelli?”

“Well,it could be.You never know.”

“Could you look up some information for me then?”

“I'll do my best.”

“Good.”

“What do you need this man for anyway?”

“Personal reasons.”I replied and quickly cut the call before he returned with another attempt to be flirty.

I threw my phone down, in anger.I was deprived of sleep,stressed,slightly intoxicated,all that and I was in the middle of relocating so the events of this morning never repeats itself.

The call with my mafia friends had yielded nothing but frustration, another dead end in my search for Saint Locke.I didn't want to believe the crap that Adriel was spewing but either way,I had to be sure in case my neck was on the line.

My head began throbbing with a nauseating headache,I pulled out my purse and threw two pills in my mouth.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, his eyes careful. He didn’t dare say anything. Not when my anger was palpable, simmering under my skin. My fists clenched onto my purse,trying to return to my old persona. My shield has always been Selene Foxx,but it hasn't been over forty eight hours here and it already seemed like the mask was crumbling.

I shouldn’t be thinking about Ares, but how could I not?He stormed back into my life, dropping accusations and warnings, acting like he still had a right to care.

I turned my face to the windows of the car,hoping and praying that people didn't know that I was coming here.

Whoever was supposed to be answering prayers refused to answer mine,in fact,I could already hear the screams as we pulled to the studio.

I slipped my glasses on and hoped that they would forgive me for not signing their autographs. I quickly checked on my appearance.I was wearing a short black chiffon dress,a set of pearls and a leather jacket. I coated my lips in deep red as usual and a slight touch of make up,I looked well put-just as I like it.

As soon as the car door opened, the heat of the crowd hit me like a tidal wave. The usual swarm of fans and paparazzi hovered, but something was off. Their cheers and shouts were laced with something darker—something that made my stomach twist with a sense of familiarity.

I stepped out, my bodyguards immediately closing in on either side, guiding me through the buzzing mass. The flashes of cameras and murmurs of gossip filled the air, but it was the tone in their voices that unsettled me.

"Is it true?"

"Can you believe it?"

"Mafia princess?"

“What a scam…”

My heart began to race as I pretended not to hear the snippets of conversation. The faces in the crowd weren’t just adoring fans anymore. Some glared, some whispered, while others stood there, their expressions unreadable, phones raised to capture every step I took.

“What the hell was going on now?”I said,posing the question to no one in particular.

The words “scammer” and “mafia” kept echoing, fueling my confusion. My mind scrambled to make sense of it, but I wasn’t about to stop and ask. That would only feed the frenzy.

The bodyguards pushed through the growing mob, and I kept my chin high, focusing on the entrance to the building ahead. As we finally passed through the doors, the chaos from outside muffled slightly, but it did little to calm my nerves. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong.

I am only glad that Ares's intrusion this morning made me take my bodyguards more seriously.

Inside, I barely had time to adjust before Michael, the director, stormed toward me, script in hand and a deep frown etched on his face.

“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?” he asked sharply, thrusting the script into my hands.

“Seen what?” I snapped back, more irritated by the swarm outside than by him. My fingers gripped the script, but my attention was on the way his lips tightened, the way his eyes flared with frustration.

“The new scandal you pulled, Selene! You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s everywhere!”

“Do not yell.”I said calmly,though my patience was wearing thin. “Calm down and articulate correctly,What are you talking about?”

Michael let out a long, exasperated sigh and threw his hands in the air. “The mafia scandal, Selene! The headlines! Ares is heading the damn investigation, and now you’re dragged right into the middle of it. You have to be aware of this!”

My blood ran cold, and I froze, staring at him. **Mafia scandal? Ares?** The words tumbled in my head, and suddenly everything clicked—the whispers from the crowd, the glares, the looks.

Michael scoffed when he saw the shock on my face. “Seriously? You had no idea?”

I said nothing, my mind whirling. I felt my pulse pounding in my ears as I gripped the script tighter, anger bubbling just beneath the surface.

“I don’t care what’s going on between you and your ex or whatever mess this is,” Michael continued, his voice hard. “But I do care about this movie, and if you don’t handle this situation, it’s going to ruin us. Right now, all anyone’s talking about is you, Selene. And not in a good way.”

“Any publicity is good publicity.”I said nonchalantly.

Ares had dragged me back into his twisted game, turning me into a spectacle, a public target once again. And I walked into it blind.

Michael didn’t stop, his frustration now pouring out. “This movie is high-profile enough without the added drama, and now it’s everywhere. Mafia ties?? Really?”

“You have said enough Micheal.”I said with a sharp edge to my voice. “If anything you should be grateful that I am trying to help save your dying career.”

He kept silent with his mouth but his eyes were saying thousands of different words,all curses at me.

I flipped through the script and placed it in my purse. “So,”I begin,putting a hair behind my ear. “Shall I go meet the cast now?”

“They already left.”Michael said begrudgingly. “The fans didn't seem very friendly and they didn't want to be here in case of violence.”

I could feel the anger rising, thick and hot in my chest. My job was now affected as well.

“I’ll take care of it,” I hissed through clenched teeth, meeting Michael’s eyes with a cold stare.

“Good” he muttered before walking off, leaving me standing there, fury coursing through me. I looked down at my hand, my knuckles white from gripping it so hard.

I have long tried to be sensible with this,to not let me anger consume me,to not let Ares get to me. But not anymore,I am going to show Ares and this whole damn town the reason I was linked to the mafias in the first place.