Chapter 3

When I slowly came to, Marcus’s assistant knocked and stepped into my room.

“Miss Nerina, tonight is the De Luca family charity gala.”

“The Don has requested that you perform the opening piano piece.”

I looked up and answered without hesitation.

“I’m not going. That’s Vivian’s role. Let her do it.”

I had to use tonight to slip into the black market and get another gun.

The assistant hesitated. “This was personally arranged by the Don.”

“The opening piece must be performed by the future Don’s wife…”

I cut him off coldly. “Then tell him I will never be his wife.”

A low, indifferent voice suddenly came from the doorway.

“Who won’t be?”

I turned to look at Marcus.

Those six bullets that had grazed my scalp had made me see this man for what he really was.

“I won’t. Marcus De Luca, I am never marrying you.”

“And the one going to Sicily the day after tomorrow isn’t Vivian. It’s—”

Marcus flipped his palm.

His phone lit up.

Vivian’s name flashed across the screen.

He answered almost without hesitation.

After hanging up, he looked at me, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“Tonight, all of New York will be watching that piano.”

“The only person allowed to sit there is the future mistress of the De Luca family.”

The next second, his men took me straight backstage and pinned me in front of the dressing mirror to do my makeup.

Vivian sat beside me, her makeup already flawless, staring at me through the mirror.

I said, “You already got Marcus. You don’t even have to go to Sicily anymore.”

“Why still won’t you leave me alone?”

She touched up her lipstick and let out a soft laugh.

“No reason. I just can’t stand you.”

“As long as you’re alive, you’re my biggest threat.”

I answered coldly, “I have things to do. I’m not going on stage.”

She suddenly put down her lipstick and turned to me.

“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

I froze.

Then she curled her lips into a smile.

“I’ll play for you.”

For a moment, I actually felt relieved.

What I didn’t know was that she had already planned the next move.

The curtain rose.

Thunderous applause filled the hall.

Vivian sat at the piano, basking in the spotlight that should have belonged to the future Don’s wife.

Down below, Marcus frowned slightly.

He clearly hadn’t expected the person on stage to be her.

Then, above the piano, came the faint sound of a rope tightening and fraying.

Marcus’s gaze turned sharp in an instant.

With just one look from him, the black-clad guards stationed around the hall all looked up at once.

Like hunting hounds, they instantly locked onto the loosened cable above.

The next second, several of them rushed the stage.

Vivian was violently tackled to the floor and shielded by Marcus’s men.

Boom.

The massive crystal chandelier came crashing down.

Shattered crystal exploded across the stage.

Curled in Marcus’s arms, Vivian burst into terrified sobs.

“It was Nerina! She forced me to take her place backstage!”

“She wanted this seat more than anyone. How could she possibly give it up so easily?”

“She must have cut the chandelier rope in advance and lured me into sitting here!”

“Don, if not for your men, I would have died just now…”

In that instant, everything became clear.

Vivian’s goal was to destroy me completely.

Only then would I stop being a threat to her.

She had been certain Marcus’s guards would keep her safe.

Marcus held the severed rope in his hand.

The cut marks from a blade were obvious.

He slowly turned to look at me.

“Twice in one day, you tried to kill Vivian twice.”

Tears slid down my face.

“It wasn’t me! Marcus, you idiot!”

Marcus turned his head slightly and spoke to his assistant in a calm voice.

“Punish her by family law.”

His arm wrapped around Vivian’s shoulders as he walked away.

All he left me was the sight of their matching backs disappearing together.

“I’m begging you… please don’t do this to me…”

My vision blurred.

The assistant stood there with his head lowered.

Marcus’s guards—his bodyguards and killers—closed in around me.

The moment the tearing pain hit, I heard the sound of my own bones cracking.

Then everything went black.

When I woke again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

All five of my fingers were splinted and fixed in place.

The doctor lowered his voice.

“Don, Miss Nerina may never be able to play the piano again.”

My tears slid silently down my temples and soaked into the pillow.

Marcus’s voice came from beside the bed.

“Use the best medicine.”

“She is my wife, she doesn’t need to know how to play piano.”

I slowly turned to look at him.

“If one day you find out Vivian lied to you… Will you regret what you did to me?”

“Vivian would never lie to me.”

His answer was absolute.

“And I will never regret it.”