Chapter 2

Dressed in a black leather biker jacket, the man strode confidently into the hall. His pistol holster gleamed under the light.

Gina's eyes lit up. She shoved the helper holding her away and scrambled toward him. "Michele!"

She threw herself into her brother Michele Bilotti's arms, crying hysterically. "If you'd been any later, I'd have jumped off the second floor because of this bitch!"

Frowning, Michele wrapped his arms around her.

When he caught sight of the tear in Gina's wedding dress, his expression instantly darkened. "What happened? How did the custom wedding dress Marco had made for you get ruined?"

Trembling, Gina pointed at me. "It was Mrs. Colombo. She not only ripped my wedding dress, but she also tried to force me to jump, telling me to leave Chiron!"

Michele spun and locked his cold gaze onto me. He sized me up, then sneered. "I was wondering who was throwing their weight around like that. Turns out it's just you—you barren old hag."

I raised an eyebrow.

Barren old hag?

Was he talking about my stepdaughter-in-law, Isabella, who hadn't been living with my stepson, Marco Colombo, for five years?

Before I could speak, Lino—whose face I'd just slapped—crawled over to Michele. "Michele! You're finally here!"

Holding his swollen face, he pointed at me and yelled, "This bitch not only bullied Gina, but she even slapped me! You've got to hold her down. I'm going to slap her back!"

Michele caught sight of the handprint on Lino's face. He took a step forward and pointed a finger right in my face before shouting, "You've got a lot of nerve! A woman who isn't even loved by her own husband is acting like the lady of the house in front of my sister?

"Listen up, Marco doesn't love you anymore. He can't wait to divorce you and marry Gina! He's throwing this whole wedding to make her happy. You just had to come and ruin it, didn't you?"

The guests around us chimed in.

"Exactly! Her family is in ruins, and she's lost her favor! What's she so proud of?"

"Michele, this bitch needs to be taught a lesson!"

Hearing the crowd cheer him on, Michele grew bolder. He whipped out his pistol, swung it toward the door, and yelled, "Someone, shut the door! I'm going to teach this woman a lesson for Marco today!"

A deafening bang echoed through the hall.

The main doors were slammed shut from the outside by several armed Soldati.

Dozens of Soldati in black suits swarmed into the hall, closing in on me from every side.

The female guests shrieked, retreating to the corners of the hall, afraid they might get caught in the bloodshed.

Gina, nestled in Michele's arms, wore a smug smile that she didn't even try to hide. She said insincerely, "Mrs. Colombo, if you get down on your knees and beg me for mercy, maybe I can convince Michele to spare your life."

I didn't respond.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile growing wider. "Marco cares so much about me. He was worried the staff would be clumsy with it, so he went to the vault himself to fetch my ten-carat wedding ring.

"He should be back any minute now. If he comes back and sees how you're bullying me, he'll punish you himself."

"Beg you?" I chuckled.

I ignored the cold barrel of the gun pointed in my face and walked downstairs to the long table. I casually picked a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it into my mouth.

"You're going to teach me a lesson for Marco?"

I spat the seed from the grape without even looking up. "Who do you think you are to teach me anything, idiot?"

The hall went dead silent.

Everyone stared at me like I was crazy.

Michele blinked in confusion, not immediately processing what I'd said.

"Are you insulting me?" he glared at me.

"Yes, you reckless piece of shit," I shot back.

I grabbed a napkin and wiped my hands slowly. "You trespassed on private property with a gun, then have the nerve to point a finger in my face and spout such nonsense?"

I raised my head and looked at him coldly. "Who gave you the nerve?"

"You bitch!" Michele's face twisted with rage.

Ever since he started working for Marco, he had been used to running wild in this area. He had never had to swallow such a humiliating insult before.

Gina fanned the flames from the side. "Michele! She actually insulted you!"

Michele's eyes turned bloodshot as he lifted the gun and aimed the barrel at my face. "You worthless bitch with no family or a man to love you! Someone, give her 50 slaps to start with. Since she's so good at mouthing off, let's see if she can still talk after we're done with her!"