Chapter 3

Pleased by my quiet compliance, Charles pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

"Tomorrow night, we are attending the family banquet. This is your chance to prove yourself again," he said in a calm tone. "It is also a responsibility that the donna must bear."

Those words again. My stomach immediately churned in disgust.

When I prepared to leave the next day, two new guards had been stationed outside my door. I changed into my dress and was escorted into the car by Susie.

She sat across from me, staring at my face with a triumphant smirk. "A true donna stays calm, even when staring down the barrel of a gun."

"What did you prepare for tonight?" I asked.

"You'll find out in a bit."

I didn't argue. Lowering my head under the guise of smoothing my skirt, I slipped a miniature GPS tracker deep into the inner hem.

When the car pulled up, Charles personally held my hand and led me into the banquet hall. He brought me from table to table, requiring me to memorize the name and identity of every family representative.

"This is the heir to the Bellini family."

"This is the Capo of the east side of Ironvale."

"He is in charge of the port business."

I nodded, committing each of their faces to memory one by one.

Charles thought I was finally obediently accepting his test. But only I knew that my tracker had already mapped out the banquet hall's exits, security cameras, and guard placements.

Half an hour later, I excused myself with a dizzy spell and walked over to the side lounge to rest. Suddenly, a strange man approached from behind. Leaning close to my ear, he whispered a familiar phrase in a low voice.

"Underground wine cellar. Third iron door."

My wine glass froze in midair. Those were the exact words spoken by the man who had kidnapped me six months ago.

I stared at the red wine in the glass, my fingers tightening. The man drew closer, his breath brushing against the side of my ear.

From across the crowded room, Charles saw the whole thing unfold. The hesitation in his eyes lasted for only a brief second before he turned his gaze away.

Susie walked up behind the man and gave him a nod.

As expected, this was all arranged by them, purely to rip open my wounds in front of everyone once again.

I knew that at this moment, I should pretend to be calm and demonstrate the courage of a donna who stays unfazed in the face of danger. However, I refused to give them what they wanted.

Picking up my wine glass, I smashed it against the edge of the table.

The sound of shattering glass instantly quieted the whole room. As the man reached out to grab me, I pressed a broken shard against his wrist.

"Take one more step, and I'll cut your hand off."

Seeing this, the surrounding guests immediately lowered their heads and began whispering among themselves.

"Why did she suddenly lose control?"

"How can a crazy woman like this manage the family?"

"Is Charles really going to keep letting her be donna?"

With a dark face, Charles stepped up to me. "Selena, put the glass down. The test is over."

Losing control, I shoved him away and screamed at the top of my lungs, "All of you want to harm me! Are you satisfied now?!"

A flicker of concern flashed through Charles' eyes. He reached out to pull me into his arms, but I jerked back violently.

"Don't touch me!"

Ethan Johnson, the family doctor, rushed over and pinned my arm down. "She needs a sedative."

Before the needle pierced my skin, I saw Charles turn around to face the crowd.

"My apologies. Selena unexpectedly lost her composure and disrupted tonight's banquet. Three days from now, I will host the banquet anew."

A wave of sighs swept through the crowd.

After returning to my room, I immediately checked the tracker. The routes for the banquet hall had all been transmitted to Marco.

My phone lit up with a new message. [The escape route is cleared. The body double will arrive in three days.]

I stashed the dagger my father had left me inside my jacket lining, alongside my hidden cash and forged ID.

Charles knocked on the door and asked, "Three days from now, are you willing to continue with the test?"

Carefully reviewing everything I had prepared, I replied, "I am."

As his footsteps faded into the distance, I switched off the tracker and sent one last message to Marco.

[Three days from now, when the final test begins, I will fake my death.]