Semua Bab Ten Years, One Abandonment: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Cheryl was locked away in the Family's interrogation room.Anthony did not move against her immediately. Instead, the Don personally led a reinvestigation into the truth behind Zachary's death two years ago.Back then, grief had blinded him. With Cheryl's deliberate guidance, he had never once suspected betrayal from within the Family.Now, looking back, every word Mabel had said rang painfully true."Back then, even we didn't know the location of Zachary's safe house. So how did the attackers find it so precisely?"The truth was far more brutal and filthy than he had imagined.…A few days later.The Don entered the interrogation room holding a bloodstained confession.Cheryl had been given neither food nor water. She was disheveled, barely recognizable.The moment she saw him, she lunged forward and clutched at his legs."Anthony! I've been framed! Please! Let me out! I'm innocent!"Anthony stepped on her chest and ground down hard."Still lying to your Don?" he said col

"Henry. Mobilize all armed forces within the family—every last soldato."When Anthony walked out of the dockyard, the scent of alcohol on him had long since faded.Anthony said coldly, "Didn't Scorpion say he's throwing a victory banquet at his stronghold?"If he enjoys a spectacle, then I'll give him a gift worthy of the occasion."Thus began the bloodiest purge the Vicente underworld had seen in a decade.…Three in the morning.Anthony personally led the hit, tearing through the estate's defenses and killing anyone in his path.Heavy machine-gun fire raked across the banquet hall. Wine and blood flooded the floor together.Scorpion had not even managed to pull his trousers up before Anthony shoved a gun barrel into his mouth."Mmm! Mmm!"In less than 30 minutes, it was over.Scorpion's men were either dead or wounded. The survivors were forced to their knees in the courtyard, shaking uncontrollably.Anthony sat in the seat that had once belonged to Scorpion, idly turnin

The sunlight in Provence was warm and dry.There was none of Vicente's endless rain there, none of the smell of gunpowder or mob warfare. Instead, the air was filled with lavender and the comforting scent of freshly baked bread.Mabel sat by the windowsill reading, utterly at ease.She was at Roland's private estate. Its security was so tight it rivaled the presidential residences of some small nations—more like a heavily guarded mafia compound than a countryside manor."What are you reading?"She turned her head.Roland was not dressed formally that day. He wore relaxed home clothes. In his hands was a tray holding a freshly brewed pot of fruit tea and several delicate pastries.In everyday life, he was nothing like the dangerous figure whispered about in the underworld.At that moment, he looked more like a refined aristocrat."Nothing important," Mabel said as she closed the book. "Just passing the time."Her gaze lingered on him, her emotions complicated.Back when Antho

"Mabel…don't go! Please, just listen to me."Anthony did not retreat despite the humiliation. His voice shook violently."I know you hate me for abandoning you back then, for believing that venomous woman, Cheryl. But now I know everything!"I've found out the truth! Zachary's death was never an accident. Cheryl colluded with Poison Scorpion and sold out the coordinates! And the Elysium incident… Yes, you were involved, and you cooperated, but she had the same intent, too! Every single conflict between you, every time, was a trap she deliberately set to frame you!"He spilled everything in desperation, trying to use these belated truths to pull her back."I've already locked her up. I've made her suffer, made her wish she were dead. Mabel, I really know I was in the wrong. I was blind. I let so-called responsibility cloud my judgment. I don't want anything else now… I just want you back. Give me a chance to make it right. Please."The surrounding guests gave them strange looks. A

For the next few days, Anthony seemed to have vanished entirely. He never once appeared before Mabel.For a moment, she felt dazed, wondering if he had finally given up or if Roland's warning had taken effect.However, the calm before a storm is never long.That afternoon, Mabel went to a flower shop to choose some fresh blooms.Just as she lowered her head to inhale their fragrance, more than a dozen men in black suits poured into the shop, swiftly taking control of the space like trained Soldati."Mabel, don't move. I mean no harm."Anthony stepped out from behind his men.He had clearly made an effort: freshly shaved, dressed in a tailored suit, once again carrying the composed, dignified air of a Don."I just want to talk to you alone. We'll sit here. We're not going anywhere else."Mabel glanced at the terrified customers and staff being held in place. To avoid innocent people getting hurt, she sat down stiffly, her expression cold."What do you want, Don?"Anthony took