Chapter 1

After I earned my Ph.D. from Yale, the Visconti Don personally recruited me, recognizing my worth, and made me his Chief Advisor.

I came back to New York this time to scout potential partners for the family.

I never expected to walk right into the exact same setup in this life.

Matthew was pointing his finger at me, swearing up and down: "I swear to God, I have never done anything to betray Caroline!"

The lace garter bore crusty stains. Its trashy style was obviously not something Caroline would ever wear.

Meeting Caroline's gaze—which looked like she wanted to flay me alive—I calmly set down my champagne glass.

There was no panic in my eyes like in my past life. Instead, I fixed my gaze on Matthew, who was nothing but street trash, and spoke.

"Mr. Matthew, eat whatever garbage you want, but watch your mouth."

"I left New York at eighteen and just flew in on a private jet a few hours ago. Meanwhile, a cheap street punk like you has never even left the country, right?"

"Today is literally our first time meeting. How could I possibly plant that on you?"

"Sounds more like you just finished a quickie in the bathroom and kept the tramp's garter as a souvenir!"

My words were bluntly explicit. The guests stared at him in shock.

Caught in a lie, Matthew flushed red but still tried to talk his way out.

"Bullshit! You're nothing but a lowly maid in our house!"

"You were making eyes at me since day one. When I ignored you, you kept trying to seduce me!"

"Last night, you literally stripped naked and crawled into my bed to offer yourself up."

"If I hadn't pulled my gun and told you my wife was right outside, threatening to blow your brains out, you never would have stopped!"

Matthew's words made Caroline frown slightly.

Ever since last week, she had noticed the stench of cheap perfume on her husband. And last night, when she got up for a drink, she did hear some shady noises coming from his room.

Her sharp eyes instantly locked onto me.

Seeing that Caroline bought his lies, Matthew smirked even more smugly and continued pouring dirt on me.

"I saw you were just a woman trying to make a living, so I didn't want to expose you."

"Never thought you'd be this vicious. Failed to get into my bed, so you frame me instead! What a sick bitch!"

"Honey. Don. The Cassano family can't keep a slut like this around. We should put a bullet in her head right now!"

Matthew's words struck Caroline’s extremely defensive and violent nerves.

Caroline, who wanted the whole of New York under her heel, immediately turned to the Don.

"Dad, this bitch is too toxic. I feel like she's already tainted our ground."

"Bring out the Black Mamba. We'll interrogate her until she spits out the truth."

Everyone in New York knew Don Cassano never denied his daughter.

He nodded, and a massive glass tank was wheeled right into the center of the banquet.

They ripped the black cloth away. Inside, a Black Mamba flicked its tongue, fixing its dead eyes on me with a blood-curdling hiss.

The guards popped the lid, grabbed my arms, and shoved me toward it.

The sheer agony of being eaten alive by a venomous snake in my past life flashed before my eyes. I fought back fiercely and screamed, "That garter is made of cheap synthetic fabric! I'm allergic to it. I never wear stuff like that. That thing is absolutely not mine!"

Matthew froze, looking panicked. He reached out, trying to toss the garter into the nearby fireplace.

But Caroline beat him to it. She snatched the garter and rubbed it against my arm.

Instantly, the skin touching the fabric broke out in angry red hives.

Caroline's face darkened.

She glanced at my custom couture gown, then backhanded Matthew across the face.

"You've been playing around, huh? This isn't hers at all!"

"Who the hell is that bitch?"