"So we just let them destroy you?" Aurora's voice was sharp.
"We let them exhaust themselves," Seraphina said. "They'll say everything they can say today. We do our job, give the public a show—a fairytale, a beautiful romance. By tomorrow, they'll have run out of ammunition. Then we walk into that interview—composed, confident—and flip the entire narrative in one move. In the calmest manner possible."
It was the best solution possible. Not defensive explanations or frantic justifications. Just calm. Poised. The opposite of everything they expected. Show them a woman who didn't need to defend herself. Show them a relationship that didn't need justification.
"We won't justify ourselves. Won't act hysterical. Just calmly handle it without raising our voice or arguing. Let the composure speak for itself."
"The paparazzi—they've surrounded the building—"
"Good." Her voice hardened. "Let them photograph me going to work. Running my company. Living my life. Let them see how powerful women handle themselves."
Seraphina went to Hale Lumina's offices and ran her company like she always did. Morning meetings. Quarterly projections. Marketing budgets. Vendor contracts. Every task executed with the same crisp efficiency that had built her reputation in the first place.
Between meetings, she monitored the media coverage with detached efficiency, trying not to let the words hit too deep.
**HALE LUMINA STOCK DROPS 3% AMID CEO'S PERSONAL SCANDAL**
**LANGFORD FAMILY "CONCERNED" ABOUT GOLD-DIGGING SERAPHINA—SOURCES**
**SERAPHINA HALE'S PATTERN OF UNSTABLE RELATIONSHIPS**
Each headline was calculated to hit where it hurt the worst. She read through them, trying not to flinch. Not to let the words get through her head.
At 2 PM, her PR team had enough. Melissa Zhang, the head of her PR, came barging into her office, laptop and charts in hand and a frown on her face. Her shoulders pulled back in that powerful black suit, technical jargon that Seraphina did not understand spewing out of her mouth the moment she entered.
"We need to put out a statement," Melissa said sternly. "CNN ran a segment questioning your mental stability. Your mother tweeted—she may give an interview. We're losing control."
Her mother tweeted? She grimaced. Victoria Hale was as sharp a person as could be. She was perhaps the perfect blend of businesswoman and politician and criminal—all of the most dangerous things in the world. This was not a play. If her mother tweeted, it was definitely a chess move, perfectly calculated.
Seraphina's hand tightened on the edge of her desk. "Show me."
Melissa turned her tablet around.
*I never wanted to speak publicly about my daughters' private lives, but as Seraphina's mother, I can no longer stay silent. My beautiful, brilliant girl has always struggled—with pressure, with relationships, with making decisions when she's hurt. This rushed relationship, mere days after what happened with Derek, terrifies me. I've watched her spiral before. I've picked up the pieces. I'm afraid Mr. Langford doesn't know what he's walking into. I'm afraid she's going to get hurt again—and hurt Mr. Langford. Or worse—hurt someone else. Please, someone help her before it's too late. A mother's heart is breaking. 💔*
Her mind went blank. She read the same lines again, trying to comprehend. Then again once more. Her mouth suddenly like sandpaper.
Her own mother. Publicly questioning her mental stability. Calling her impulsive, unstable, a pattern of bad decisions. Hell, she even warned Alexander away from her like she was damaged goods.
That too on Twitter. The post had gathered over a million views, hundreds of thousands of retweets, endless comments calling her crazy, unstable, dangerous.
The hurt slammed through her like a fist to the diaphragm. All the air left her lungs at once.
She'd known—known—that Victoria had chosen Evelyn. Had watched her mother stand by and do nothing while Evelyn destroyed her. But some stupid, childish part of her had still hoped.
But this—this public execution, this deliberate character assassination, this Twitter statement for millions to see—this was a choice. An explicit, unambiguous choice. Victoria hadn't just chosen Evelyn over her. Victoria had chosen to destroy her.
"Your stock price is falling," Melissa continued, oblivious to the devastation playing out behind Seraphina's carefully maintained composure. "Your reputation is being destroyed—"
"It's nothing we can't deal with." Seraphina's voice came out steady despite the way her hands wanted to shake. "One comprehensive response is more powerful than a dozen defensive statements. We stick to the plan and give no statements. None. Not even about Victoria."
Especially not about Victoria.
Melissa wanted to argue but finally nodded. "You need to be ready for the interview. They'll come at you hard."
"I know."
"I'll send you a list of possible questions and appropriate answers."
She nodded, her mind not exactly clear. "Please send them to my office."
After they left, she dropped her head into her hands, let her shoulders curl forward, felt the weight of everything threatening to crush her.
She just needed a second. A second to hurt. A second to feel the pain. A second to process the betrayal.
She would have to do something about this. This couldn't go on.
She pulled out her phone and dialed Alexander.
He answered on the first ring. "Seraphina."
"The contract stated that you would provide full support and protection in maintaining public credibility and reputation," she said, voice calm and professional. "I have accepted every condition you have given me, just as it is stated in the contract."
She paused, hearing his heavy breath on the line.
"I think the time has come for you to keep your side of the bargain."