The first thing Serena notices is the sound.Not the shouting—that comes later, swelling like a tide—but the mechanical staccato of cameras. Relentless and precise, a thousand shutters fire in uneven rhythm, like something alive and hungry and coordinated enough to feel intentional. It echoes down the hotel portico before she even steps out of the car. For a moment, she stays where she is. The door is open. The night air leaks in—cooler than it should be for this time of year, carrying the faint scent of rain and city exhaust and something metallic beneath it. Prague doesn’t care about Hollywood, but Hollywood has found a way to bleed into it anyway. “Serena,” Gia says quietly. Serena turns her head. Gia is already watching her—sharp-eyed, immaculate, phone in hand, hair pulled back like control itself has a physical form. There’s no panic in her expression. No surprise. Only concern but already
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