The main house of the Hartanto family was located on the outskirts of Surabaya, far from the bustle of the metropolitan city. The head of the Hartanto Family, Chris and Sara's grandfather, moved back into his childhood house after the death of his wife ten years ago.
However, the head of the family was dying in his bed now. The old man spent most of his time sleeping, but even if he woke up, he never said a word about the distribution of the family's wealth. That was how the feud between his two sons started. For now, Jefferson Hartanto managed most of the family business as the eldest son.
Sara arrived at the gates of the house around 10 am. Her heart was pounding and her head was filled with anxiety. Her father sounded very angry when he called Sara home over the phone earlier. Since then, bad thoughts started to invade her mind and she couldn't concentrate on driving. She nearly got hit several times on the way home.
Sara stood stunned for a moment. Her feet seemed to refuse to move past the gate. Sara looked up and surveyed the old house. Despite being renovated many times, the house still looked like it had been buffeted by rain and wind over the years.
Sara took a deep breath before braving herself to get through the gate. She entered the front door and headed into the living room. After knocking, Sara opened the living room's door.
She saw her uncle Jefferson and her father, Paul Hartanto, sitting across the sofa. Apart from them, there were two more men who were smoking by the window. They were Chris and Alan Hartanto, Jefferson's sons and first grandchildren of the Hartanto family. Chris was always friendly with Alan, even more so than Sara, who was actually his own sister.
Sara took her eyes off the two young men before walking inside, "Uncle Jeff, Dad, Brother Alan, and Brother Chris, I'm back." Her greeting was polite.
As soon as Sara said that, she felt Jefferson's cold gaze pierced her.
"Oh, Sara is here?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Sara turned around. She saw her aunt who happened to just come out of the kitchen carrying a bowl filled with pieces of fruit. The middle-aged woman smiled broadly when she saw Sara.
"Aunt Jenny, I'm back." Sara greeted the woman with a nod before turning her gaze back to the gentlemen.
Since she was a child, her father always reminded Sara not to be close to her uncle's wife. Jenny had been with her husband for nearly 40 years and helped him from behind the scenes. The woman's ability couldn't be underestimated.
The harmonious atmosphere in the living room felt fake. Everyone was competing with each other for the family's inheritance.
Jenny placed the bowl on the table before wiping her hands with a handkerchief. Even though she had reached her 50s, the woman maintained her youthful appearance still. There were almost no wrinkles on her face, not even a trace of line when she smiled.
"Kids, don't keep smoking and eat more fruit." Jenny called Chris and Alan, who were standing by the window. The woman still treated them like children, "You are young, so you have to maintain a healthy lifestyle! Sara, you also eat fruit, okay!" Jenny turned to look at Sara.
Hearing that, Chris and Alan put out their cigarettes and walked over to the sofa. The two men were both tall, but Chris was slightly taller than Alan. Today, Chris was wearing an expensive looking white shirt and gray suit. His neat appearance was contrasting Alan's.
The 35-year-old man was wearing a dark blue polo shirt and dark pants that looked casual. Alan inherited his father's face, especially the sharp look in his eyes. Because of this, the man was often called "scary face" and had trouble finding a girlfriend.
"You can eat as much fruit as you like later, Sara." Jefferson's cold voice chased away the lively atmosphere, "Now tell me why Hartanto Entertainment is facing lawsuit. What have you done?!"
"Un-Uncle…" Sara stared at Jefferson, shaking violently. She was terrified by the man's sharp gaze. Sara then saw her father's worried look. She remembered that Hartanto Entertainment was a company that she had worked so hard to get from the Hartanto family. She couldn't afford to lose that company!
Sara took a deep breath and calmed down. She boldly met Jefferson's gaze, "Uncle, the Aphrodite Agency is doing this on purpose to slander us. I've already called a group of lawyers I know and I won't let them win."
Jefferson squinted at Sara's explanation, "Are you sure?" He asked, glaring at the woman. His voice was filled with suspicion and disbelief.
Sara felt her heart almost stop beating as her uncle seemed unable to believe her explanation. She gave her father a pleading look, hoping that Paul would help her out.
Paul frowned as he caught Sara's point. Even though he was angry about this case, he still needed to speak up. After all, Sara was his own daughter. Plus, Hartanto Entertainment was the biggest source of money for the Hartanto Family.
"Brother Jeff, there seems to be a misunderstanding about this." Paul spoke in a soothing tone, "Hartanto Entertainment and Aphrodite Agency have never had any problems before. This time they may be planning something to repay the newly joined artist."
Paul said that because Aphrodite's agency sued Hartanto Entertainment. He said as if Sara Hartanto or Rina Cayla didn't start it all. This meant that the Aphrodite Agency was deliberately challenging the Hartanto family company. Paul knew that Jefferson, as owner of Hartanto Entertainment, would not remain silent.
But Jefferson didn't say a word. The man just smoked with casual movements. His secretive attitude made Sara and Paul exchange confused looks.
Jenny was the one who responded to their words, instead. The woman brewed some tea saying, "But we've never dealt with them before, have we? Why are they suddenly looking for trouble with us? It doesn't sound right, Sara."
Paul glared at Jenny when he heard her daughter's story being refuted.
Jenny poured the tea into the teacup in an elegant motion. Perhaps, since the woman came from a respectable family, she could still look elegant even when she was brewing tea.
Jenny handed the teacup to her husband before saying, "Sara, I heard that this big fuss was caused by a new artist you contracted a few days ago. Is that true? Is that artist so great that you're willing to ignore company's rules just to hire her?"
Sara's face suddenly turned pale. She did not think that her aunt would mention Rina here.
"A-Auntie… Rina… Rina is…" Sara stuttered in panic.
She tried to come up with a reasonable excuse to justify her actions, but no words came to her mind. Sara intentionally recruited Rina just because they both wanted to bring Lilia down. She didn't care about Rina's abilities as an artist at all.
But Sara didn't think that Rina's first attempt to take Lilia down would end like this. The woman caused such a big problem that Hartanto Entertainment was sued. That woman was really useless!
Sara felt so angry at Rina for ruining everything. She hoped she could turn back time and cancel her contract with Rina. She reminded herself not to repeat the same mistake again!
"Sara." Jefferson finally opened his mouth, "I've given you 5 years to run Hartanto Entertainment. I don't expect much from you. After all, you are just a young woman. I am satisfied if you can maintain an average performance."
Jefferson raised his teacup and blew the surface of the tea. He stared at the tea as he continued talking.
"But you've made a very big mistake this time. Your mistake tarnished the reputation of the Hartanto Family as a whole. I think you should take some time to rest first." Jefferson continued calmly.
Sara felt as if her legs had suddenly lost ground. She almost collapsed when she heard those words. This was tantamount to telling Sara to let go of Hartanto Entertainment!
"Uncle, please listen to me. This is just a minor accident. I never intended to embarrass this family. I…"
Jefferson suddenly raised a hand and interrupted Sara's explanation.
"You don't have to say anything else. I've decided it's time to make a little change. Chris." Jefferson called.
The man who had been sitting quietly and listening all this time, looked up.
"You will manage Hartanto Entertainment from now on." Jefferson said his order.
The corner of Chris's mouth lifted into a faint smile, "Uncle, are you kidding? Do you think I'm not busy lately?" He asked in protest.
Jefferson glanced at Chris and snorted, "Why? Do you want to get more work?" He replied.
The first son of the Hartanto family was more friendly and warm towards Chris than Sara. Jefferson had always treated Sara cold and nonchalant.
"No, I…" Chris hesitated for a moment. Jefferson's expression turned colder, showing that he was starting to lose his temper.
Alan, who was sitting beside Chris, quietly kicked his leg from under the table. The message was clear, "Accept your new job immediately!"
Chris stood up quickly and bowed deeply to Jefferson, "I will accept the responsibility, Uncle. Thank you very much for this opportunity!"
The man shot Jefferson an annoyed glance before turning to Sara. His little sister's face was pale and her gaze was unfocused.. Chris snapped his fingers to get Sara's attention before saying, "When do you have time to spare? You need to turn over the important company documents to me."
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