Chapter 2

Carmela explained hurriedly, "He did that to himself! He was always playing the victim for sympathy! He just wanted attention!"

The live stream chat exploded, flooded with hateful comments likely driven by bots: "What a toxic snake! Sick manipulation!"

"Looked like a gentleman, but rotten to the core! Served him right getting kicked out!"

Julian smiled smugly and hugged Vivienne from behind right on cue, whispering in her ear, "Darling, it's our big day. Let's turn it off."

"Even though he threatened me, he's been punished. I don't hold it against him anymore."

I scoffed. Punished?

Don't you have a conscience, Julian?

Vivienne ignored his touch, her sharp eyes glued to the screen. "Is that so? I want to see exactly how he hurt himself."

She tapped the second video.

The footage showed me late at night, studying a crucial port bidding contract. I was planning to win it and present it to Vivienne as a dowry.

I didn't have Russo blood, but I'd bled for the Family for years, saving every penny. I planned to risk it all to build my own power base.

As an adopted son, I knew I had to become powerful in my own right to be worthy of her.

Suddenly, Julian pushed the door open, walking in with a guilt-ridden face. "Cassius, Papa stripped you of your Capo title on my first day back. You're not mad, are you?"

Before I could even speak, his expression twisted into a manic, mocking laugh. "You absolute idiot!"

"Can't you see Papa only cares about me? And you're still shamelessly clinging to the Russos?"

"I literally just hid a file and framed you for it. Papa didn't even blink before labeling you a rat. Isn't that hilarious?"

My chest ached, but I didn't want to fight him. I just said coldly, "It's not funny, Julian."

"I don't want what's yours. Stop coming here to tell me these things, and stop playing these pointless games."

My lack of a reaction only fueled his rage.

He violently grabbed me by the collar of my suit, his face contorted with fury. "Cassius! Who the fuck gave you the right to say you don't want what's mine?!"

"Vivienne is mine! She belongs to the true heir of the Russo Family! If you hadn't stolen my life, you never would've been her fiancé!"

"I suggest you call off the engagement right now. Otherwise, next time, it won't be a knife—it'll be a bullet!"

The video cut to black.

The venue was dead silent for several seconds before someone yelled, "What the hell?! Cassius was the one being framed the whole time?!"

"Julian accused Cassius of stealing Family secrets just to strip him of his Capo rank?!"

"So Cassius never threatened him! Julian made it all up!"

"He orchestrated the whole damn thing!"

My adoptive parents looked at Julian, their faces completely drained of color.

Julian stiffened, then grabbed their hands, explaining frantically, "You're misunderstanding! Cassius forced me to say that! He threatened me... he said if I didn't do what he wanted, he would..."

He let his sentence trail off, leaving room for people's twisted imaginations.

Don Carlo looked as if it all made sense now, nodding along. "I never knew Cassius was so calculating! This was a trap he set from the beginning!"

Carmela nodded vigorously. "He definitely recorded this on purpose to frame Julian! Julian is too kind; he's no match for a snake like Cassius!"

"He probably self-destructed because he knew he wasn't fit to be a Valenti son-in-law and couldn't stand Julian becoming one! Pure evil!"

Some guests whispered in agreement: "He really is filthy. I've seen every picture of him from The Abyss. He looked like he was enjoying it, not forced at all."

"Exactly. Giving up a Mafia Princess for that? God knows what goes through his head."

"So that's how it is... No wonder the Russos dumped him! He had it coming!"

Hovering in the air, I couldn't help but shiver, my gaze instinctively finding Vivienne.

Please don't believe them... please.

Surprisingly, Vivienne didn't express their disgust. She let out a soft, bitter laugh and said, "I also want to know what went through his head. Keep watching."