Her laughter was clear and cold. Though pleasant to the ear, it sent an inexplicable chill down their spines.
The surrounding air seemed to drop to a freezing point.
The Wynns shivered, instinctively reaching up to rub their necks.
Serena lifted her gaze slightly, her clear, bright eyes landing coolly on Marianne.
Her expression was calm and detached, devoid of any emotion.
The look sent Marianne stumbling back several steps, her hand flying to her racing heart.
She stared at Serena with a flicker of fear.
When Marianne realized what she had just done, she was overcome with shame and humiliation.
Her face turned green, as if she'd been slapped by an invisible hand, and she exploded in a rage. "What are you laughing at? What right do you have to laugh?"
"You ungrateful brat! Last time at Le Céleste, you nearly got us thrown in jail! And now, you deliberately went after Hailey's fiancé, which is why he tried to get rid of you with that ridiculous racing bet!"
"You've caused the Wynn family so much trouble. You alone should bear all our losses!"
The more Marianne spoke, the more righteous and entitled she sounded.
She pointed at the black Maybach Serena had just driven up in, her voice gaining momentum. "Since you've sold your body to get in with the Blackwood heir, you can be the one to clean... clean... up this mess for us."
Her voice trailed off on the last few words.
Serena's gaze was fixed on her, chilling her to the bone.
The blustering confidence she had managed to summon instantly deflated.
How could a little tramp from the countryside have such a powerful presence?
It was actually... intimidating.
"Wh-what are you looking at! Hurry up and..." Marianne swallowed hard, trying to puff out her chest and reclaim the authority she once had as Serena's mother.
Serena's lips curved into a smile,
and she enunciated each word
as your teash not on tight?"
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Marianne's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Serena.
Did she... just call her a dog?!
How dare she?!
The Serena she remembered had been meek and subservient, always trying to please her.
How had she become like this?
Marianne was practically insane
Qu
with rage. "Serena, do you really think you're on top of the world just because you crawled into MP. Blackwood's bed? You're just a slut who sold her body, as worthless as your parents from that slum-"
Serena's eyes instantly turned cold and hard.
"Ah!"
A scream tore through the air.
Before anyone could react, Serena had grabbed a handful of Hailey's carefully styled hair and yanked it hard.
The immense force felt like her scalp was being ripped off, and Hailey let out a piercing shriek of pain.
*SLAP_*
A sharp slap landed squarely across Hailey's face.
Hailey's cry grew more desperate as she instinctively tried to pull away from Serena's grasp.
But the more she struggled, the
more
causiuciating the pain became,
causing her to convulse. Her body was forced to bend forward, a pathetic and disheveled sight.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Hailey!" Stunned by Serena's cold eyes and sudden violence, Marianne took a moment to react.
She lunged toward them. "You little bitch, how dare you hit my daughter!"