CH.12

Serena felt her heart pounding against her ribs, each beat echoing a painful reminder that her world—the one where she had been ascending to the peak of her dreams just moments ago was now unraveling before her eyes like a tapestry coming undone thread by thread.

The urge to scream and demand answers clawed at her insides, but a suffocating pressure gripped her throat as if invisible fingers were tightening around it.

“Please let me do my job, sir. The press is present and we do not want others to assume you are trying to stop an investigation because the suspect is your daughter,” the officer interjected sharply, his tone laced with malice.

Serena could already foresee the direction this confrontation was taking. "Please, Dad..." Her voice wavered, barely above a whisper in a plea for calm directed both inwardly and towards him. "Let's... let's just find out what they want."

She dreaded dragging him into this mess, knowing how quickly people would judge and seek faults in those they couldn't control or oppress.

Alex stood by her side like a steadfast nemesis amidst the swirling chaos of potential accusations and looming scandal.

The weight of every gaze bore down on Serena; she could almost hear the clatter of keys as journalists began crafting headlines that would cast her name in a harsh light she had never fathomed before.

"Serena..." Her father's voice trembled with emotion, bridging the physical distance between them and infusing her with a sliver of resolve. "I will fix this. I will unearth who is behind this scheme to frame you and restore your tarnished reputation."

Serena swallowed the lump in her throat. "I love you, Dad," she echoed, though the word tasted like ash in her mouth.

Her father took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, tigress!"

"Officer, can you please explain why our idol is being taken away by your men?" someone asked from the crowd.

The room, once a symphony of clinking glasses and murmured accolades was now filled with complex emotions as the officer's words cut through the air like a knife. "There has been a case of murder and she’s a potential suspect," he announced, his voice devoid of any theatricality that the occasion might have warranted. it was raw and unadorned fact.

A collective intake of breath rippled through the crowd, the susurrus of gasps washing over Serena like a cold tide. Her knees buckled, the finely woven fabric of her gown whispering against her skin as she descended, and the world tilted precariously around her.

She felt the ground meet her side with unforgiving reality.

"Serena!" It was more than a name; it was a lifeline thrown into the churning sea of confusion that swallowed her whole.

In the vertigo of the moment, Serena's mind raced with questions. How? When? Whose murder? Why was all this happening now?

The questions spiraled, unbidden and each laced with icy dread. The role she had so artfully played on screen, the one that had brought her here to this precipice of glory, now seemed like a cruel foreshadowing of a narrative she had never intended to be hers.

Her father's face hovered above her, a mask of concern etched deep upon his features.

She could see the subtle shake of his head, the disbelief that mirrored her own internal turmoil.

His hand reached out, hovering as if unsure whether to pull her up or shield her from the prying eyes that feasted upon the scandal unfolding before them.

"Please," she tried to say, but the word was a mere wisp of sound, lost beneath the crescendo of murmurs that swelled around them. Helplessness threaded through her, binding her limbs and sealing her lips.

"Move back! Give her space!" The command came from someplace beyond her line of sight; it was distant and insignificant in comparison to the storm roaring within her.

She dared not look at Alex, the man who should have been her anchor but now stood as silent as a ghost.

His proximity was a reminder of his betrayal all of which made the current situation even more dreadful. The moment he walked in with the officers, it was evident she should expect the worst.

She understood last night that trusting him was the biggest mistake she'd ever made. If he could fuck her best friend behind her back, it was clear that he wouldn't wash an eye before feeding her poison.

Serena felt like the greatest fool in the entire world. It took her three years to realize he was a two-faced jackass.

It was clear to her father that she was on the edge of having a mental collapse.

Serena has suffered from capiophobia, (fear of the police) since the very day she witnessed a dejected group of police officers invade their school and rained bullets on the young pupils.

Her classmates, including her twin sister and many other student plus teachers died on that particular day.

Sirona had jumped to protect Serena with her body when one of the mad cops leveled his rifle at them. The young girl had died instantly, with her skull blown all over Serena's body.

Serena had to go through years of therapy to finally get over that nightmare. She'd only been seven years old at the time.

An additional tragedy occurred when an innocent guy was wrongfully accused of being a serial killer who was attempting to run and was shot dead on the spot before his pregnant wife and their daughter, who was two years old at the time.

"Stay with me, Serena. Focus on my voice." Her father's words served as a guiding light, bringing her back to earth with a touch that conveyed the dept of his fatherly love. However, nothing in her past had prepared her for the role of being the center of this hurricane, or the named suspect whose innocence was going to be trampled upon by accusations.

"This can't be happening... I didn’t kill anyone. I am being framed." she muttered like a fragile mantra bubble threatening to burst. Her chest became constricted, and she battled to take a breath; every inhalation was a battle against the heavy burden of unjustified shame she was dealing with.

Strong arms assisted Serena in sitting up, and her vision became clear enough for her to see the sea of faces, some of which were shocked, while others were speculative.

She wondered how many performances had just been amended by this new, unsolicited role she had been thrust into. "The spotlight scorched her flesh, and she realized that no amount of applause could drown out the resounding echo of the word "suspect" that now clung to her name like an uncanny cloud.

"Murderer", was the silent accusation in every glance and the unspoken question that sought to unravel the threads of her carefully constructed life.

And in that moment, as she struggled to rise, Serena understood that some roles demand far more of you than you're ever prepared to give.