Chapter 24

“This is the meeting place,” Carol said, putting her smartphone into her pocket.

“Who will we be meeting?” Nadia asked, looking concerned.

Carol had asked her to come here. She wore a casual outfit, a bucket hat, black glasses, and a mask. Honestly, she looked very suspicious, but no one would realize she’s Nadia unless they heard her voice.

“You two stay here.” Carol got out of the car.

I and Nadia exchanged glances. She stood far from the car and fiddled with her phone. A call came in. I picked it up.

“Hello?”

“I’ve muted you, so leave the call on.”

In the distance, she put her phone back in her chest pocket.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

Carol hadn’t said anything to me. She just asked if I was available and if I wanted to come with her somewhere. Yes, she specifically said ‘somewhere’, and she led me here. We were on the side of the road in Cakung, East Jakarta, near a large, famous furnishing company. Right across from us, we could see a large shopping mall owned by a famous foreign brand. When we arrived, I thought she wanted to go to the mall. I didn't expect she would take us here. We had been parked here for almost an hour at this point.

“Oh, look, a car.”

Something wasn’t right. The car pulled over, and Nadia gasped when she saw the person coming out of the car.

“I told you, right? I’m not apologizing to Nadia.” Her voice came through the call. I exchanged glances with Nadia.

It was Rizka Radani. She seemed hostile and on edge. Just what did Carol say to her?

“I had promised you that this time, it’s not about Nadia. Had it been, the director wouldn’t be involved.”

“Where is he, anyway?”

“He told me to deal with this.”

“What?”

“I’ve talked with him. He said that we can’t risk having this turn into a full-blown issue.”

“Why does he care? He had nothing to do-”

“You play a minor role, Rizka. If you can’t watch how you act, then we can change you with someone else.”

Rizka raised her eyebrow. “But the contract-”

“Have you seen point number seven? What you’re doing falls under unprofessional conduct. It will hurt the image of this production. And that’s not worth it.”

Carol proceeded to list all of Rizka’s faults. A staggering amount. We were far enough that the darkened windshield would prevent Rizka from noticing. Without it, she would surely notice three people staring in shock at her, Carol’s driver included.

“You really should have tidied up more.”

Rizka gritted her teeth. “What do you know!? That girl is a liar!”

Rizka pushed Carol, but unlike Nadia, Carol didn't react. Instead, she continued staring at her, her expression hard to read. Rizka seemed surprised that her trick didn't work.

“Two-faced! Do you really think she’ll get close to you without any motive!?” she continued, but Carol stood her ground, showing no change in expression.

Nadia shuddered at Rizka’s accusation.

“We’re not talking about her right now.”

“Besides, if it’s really that serious, why not contact me directly? Why go through you? Are you here because you’re defending Nadia?”

“I didn’t remember mentioning Nadia once in our conversation.”

“But-”

“As for your previous question, the director is busy working on the movie. I just have some free time, and I know you. That’s all.”

“You…” Rizka gritted her teeth.

“So, what do you want to do? It’s your choice.”

“I- This is blackmail!”

“Your faults are clear to everyone in production. It isn’t blackmail if everyone knows about it, is it?”

“You’re lying! You only said that because Nadia is your friend!”

“So what?”

“So… what?”

Rizka seemed taken aback by Carol’s sudden change in tone.

“... Assuming you are right.”

“Assume?”

“Assuming I’m here just to protect Nadia, which I haven’t mentioned even once, then what? You’ve been saying awful things about my friend. Spreading rumors, trying to ruin her image, and even going as far as tricking her. And now, I’m supposed to trust you?”

Rizka gritted her teeth. “She-”

“The reason you hate her so much isn’t that she did something wrong,” Carol stated, her voice cold and chilling.

“You hated her because she took the role you were supposed to play.”

Nadia gasped, looking at Rizka.

“Nadia was never supposed to play Lily. She wasn’t a big name, and you were already chosen for that role. But when the audition for the side characters began, the director realized her performance far exceeded yours. At the time, you didn’t think much about it. You believed the show would flop because of her. But instead, they made the right choice. Nadia became the face of the show, while you fell into the background.”

Rizka clenched her fist. “Shut up! What do you know!? You weren't there!”

“I wasn't, but I knew people who did. Unfortunately, they weren’t a fan of yours, either. Think about it. You haven’t been relevant all this time, until this issue with Nadia came up. Has anyone mentioned your name? Has anyone talked about you? When was the last time you picked up a major role?”

“Yo- you…”

“And yet, even then, all the headlines talked about Nadia. Even after everything you did, you, the ‘victim’, weren't even mentioned. Many didn't realize you were the one being slapped.”

“Tha- that's intentional!”

“Then how about this?”

Carol showed Rizka her phone, and Rizka was speechless, but Carol was ruthless.

“Had I only known Nadia, I might believe you, but we worked together before, Rizka. I knew your personality. As a voice actress, you really should have been acting more.”

Rizka gaped.

“Again, your choice.”

Carol turned to the main road, got in a car, and went away, leaving Rizka and us staring at her on the side of the road.

“... Where is she going?”

•••

As it turned out, Carol went ahead for dramatic effect. We ended up picking her up at the mall before heading back home. We were tired. Carol took Nadia to where her driver waited, then drove me home. We didn’t share a single word on the way back.