There were two women in Manhattan who were famous for spending money. One was my mother, Elena Marchetti. The other was my godmother, Sofia Castellano. Whenever they were in a good mood, they might casually give a younger relative a limited-edition sports car—or simply buy an island and disappear there for a change of scenery. No one dared say a single unkind word about either of them. That was because my father, Lorenzo Marchetti, was the head of Manhattan’s Marchetti family and controlled the money flowing through Manhattan’s underworld. My godfather, Dante Castellano, not only controlled several casinos in Las Vegas, but also controlled some of the most lucrative concert, film, and streaming ventures in North America . Outside the home, both men inspired terror. In private, they indulged their wives without limit. “We make the money. They get to be happy.” Then one day, I dragged them both to a concert by Brianna, the hottest pop star in the country. During a backstage meet-and-greet, Brianna immediately noticed the pigeon-blood ruby ring on my mother’s hand. My mother refused politely. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. My husband commissioned this ring when he proposed. It cost thirty million dollars, and there is only one in the world. It isn’t for sale.” Brianna’s expression darkened instantly. “It’s just a red rock.” She snatched up a crystal glass from the table and smashed it against my mother’s forehead. “Who knows whether it’s even real? I’m offering to pay because I’m doing you a favor.” Blood immediately ran down my mother’s brow. I froze in shock. Someone in Manhattan had actually dared to make Don Marchetti’s wife bleed. These idiots had no idea what they had just done. Brianna’s private bodyguards surrounded us. They seized my mother’s wrist and tried to force the ring off her finger. I immediately pressed the emergency pendant hidden beneath the collar of my shirt. It would take only one second for the distress signal to reach my father’s private phone.
“Something’s wrong! Someone is hurting Mom and Aunt Sofia. Hurry—” Before I could finish, Brianna ripped the pendant away from me. “I was so busy dealing with these two ungrateful bitches that I forgot about the little brat. You actually tried to call for help?” She slammed the platinum pendant bearing the Marchetti crest onto the concrete floor. One sharp-eyed staff member stared at it and lowered his voice. “That… that’s the Marchetti family crest. There’s only one like it in all of Manhattan…” Others began whispering. “She pressed it twice. That’s the Marchetti family’s internal emergency code…” “Enough!” Brianna looked my mother and godmother up and down with open contempt. “Look at them. Do they look like women who could have anything to do with the Marchettis? Everyone knows how protective Marchetti is of his wife and daughter. They travel with dozens of bodyguards. Women like you couldn’t get past the Marchettis’ front gate, let alone belong to the family.” A faint silver light flashed across my watch. She destroyed the pendant, but she didn’t know my watch carried a second tracker and recorder. Someone once spoke badly about my mother behind her back. The next day, my father’s men cut out his tongue. Thinking about that made Brianna’s expression almost laughable. Blood was still flowing from the wound on my mother’s forehead. Even so, she bent down and stroked my hair. “Don’t be afraid, baby. Mommy’s here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Only then did I get a clear look at the wound. It was raw and bloody. It looked terribly painful. My father had warned me more than once that I was never to let my mother get hurt. “Don’t be afraid, Mom.” I stepped in front of her. “Dad will be here soon!” The contempt in Brianna’s eyes nearly overflowed. “Your father? What is he, a driver? A security guard? Your whole family probably crawled out of some slum, and you still dare brag in front of me?” She turned and shouted at the guards. “What are you standing around for? Take the ring!” The guards rushed forward. My godmother hurried in front of my mother. Before she could speak, one of the guards slapped her across the face and sent her crashing to the floor. When I saw another man grabbing my mother’s hand, I threw myself at him and bit him. “Ah!” The guard cried out in pain and kicked me away. I hit the floor so hard that stars burst across my vision. My mother rushed to me. “Baby, are you all right?” Then she turned on the guards. “Touch any of us again, and I promise you won’t live to see tomorrow.” My mother usually spent her days shopping and enjoying herself. But in that moment, the full authority of Don Marchetti’s wife filled the room. The guards were genuinely intimidated. They stopped. Even Brianna hesitated for a second. “You won’t let us see tomorrow? You really know how to tell a story.” “Do you even know who my husband is? Ray Stone, vice president of Titan Realm Studios. In Manhattan’s entertainment industry, when he speaks, everyone listens.” “He’s a senior associate of the Marchetti family. Once he gets here, we’ll see whether any of this nonsense you’re saying is true.” The name sounded strangely familiar. I blurted out, “Mom, isn’t Ray Stone the man Dad said was worth less than a dog?” Brianna’s smile froze. Her face turned scarlet. “You dare insult my husband? None of you are leaving here alive today!” The backstage door slammed shut. Several staff members took up positions in front of it, blocking every exit.
Brianna pointed to a brown glass bottle in the corner. “Wash out the mouths of that bitch and her daughter. Let’s see if they still dare talk nonsense afterward.” My face went white. It was industrial-grade concentrated sulfuric acid. My mother cared deeply about her beauty. Even a single pimple upset her. Whenever that happened, my father would fly specialists in from Switzerland, order the most expensive skincare products in the world, and arrange the finest cosmetic treatments money could buy. If her face was destroyed, my father’s rage could burn all of Manhattan to the ground. The guards hesitated. “Ms. Veyra, should we wait for Mr. Stone to confirm who these three are before we do anything?” They were clearly afraid of the Marchetti family. But Brianna had already been blinded by rage. “Idiot. Only someone as stupid as you would believe them.” I planted myself in front of my mother, but a guard grabbed me by the back of my collar and lifted me off the floor. “Let go of me!” I struggled desperately, the fabric cutting into my throat until I could barely breathe. My mother was forced to the floor in a humiliating position, yet she still tried to comfort me. “Don’t look, baby! Close your eyes and wait for Daddy!” Brianna slapped her hard across the face. “You’re still pretending when you’re about to die? Do you really think anyone is coming to save you?” “Once I’m done washing out your filthy mouth, that little bitch is next.” Anger burned through me. When Dad arrived, I was going to ask him to have every one of them thrown into the Hudson River for the fish. “What are you waiting for? Pour it!” The moment the cap came off the bottle, the sharp, corrosive smell spread through the room. Brianna leaned against the wall with her arms folded, laughing. “What a touching mother-daughter scene. I should put something like this in my next movie.” The guard lifted the bottle and was about to throw the acid into my mother’s face. My godmother suddenly pushed herself up from the floor and rammed into him with all her strength. He lost his balance. The acid splashed out, and some of it landed on Brianna’s face. “Ah!” She screamed in agony and cursed at my godmother. “You bitch! Do you have any idea how much I spend on this face every year?” My godmother showed no fear. “I’m going to say this one last time.” “My husband is Dante Castellano. Her husband is Lorenzo Marchetti.” “In Manhattan, if you lay one finger on us, your entire family will die with you.” The nearby staff members went pale and instinctively stepped back. My godmother thought Brianna was finally frightened and turned to help my mother. The next second, she screamed and fell to the floor, writhing in agony. Brianna tossed the acid bottle aside and smiled darkly. “Castellano? Marchetti? Look in a mirror. Do you think you’re worthy of saying those names?” “Everyone knows the wives of those two Dons travel with dozens of bodyguards.” “And yet here you are, two women and one little brat, sneaking into a concert without a single escort. You expect me to believe you’re important?” Regret crushed me. Normally, my mother and godmother traveled in convoys of black armored vehicles with teams of suited guards. No stranger could get anywhere near them. I was the one who insisted on seeing Brianna’s concert. I had begged them to sneak out without their bodyguards and had even made sure we avoided their assistants. That was how these people had gotten their chance. It was all my fault. I had done this to my mother and godmother. I screamed with all my strength. “If you touch my mother again, my father will never let you go!” Brianna sneered. “Big bitch, little bitch. Both of you live in a fantasy.” She nodded at the guards. “Cut out the little bitch’s tongue. Let’s see whether she keeps talking.” Two guards approached with scissors. My whole body shook with fear, but I refused to move. I stood firmly in front of my mother. My mother rushed in front of me. “Brianna! Take it out on me. Leave my daughter alone!” Brianna smiled viciously. “Leave her alone?” “Fine.” “My shoes are dirty. Lick them clean, and I’ll spare her.”
The surrounding staff burst into laughter. “Ms. Veyra, be careful. Don’t let her dirty your shoes.” Ever since my mother met my father at eighteen, he had treated her like a princess. She had never suffered the slightest humiliation. My father always said my mother was the most important person in our family, and that he and I had to protect her with everything we had. But now, for my sake, she was being forced to endure this. I watched my mother slowly lower her head toward the toe of Brianna’s shoe. The next second, she drove a knife straight into Brianna’s foot. Brianna screamed in pain and kicked my mother to the floor. “You miserable bitch!” “Break her hand. Let’s see whether she ever tries something like that again.” The guard brought an iron bar down hard on my mother’s hand. Her face twisted in agony. Even as her whole body convulsed from the pain, she lifted her head and forced a smile for me. “Baby… close your eyes… don’t look…” I sobbed until I could barely breathe and twisted desperately, trying to get to her. Brianna threw back her head and laughed. “How touching. Too bad no one is coming to save you today.” At that moment, the sound of synchronized footsteps came from outside. Hope exploded in my chest. “My dad is here! You hurt his wife—you’re all dead You hurt my mother. You’re all dead!” Everyone in the room panicked. The staff exchanged frightened looks, and the guards loosened their grip on me. Brianna’s smile stiffened. The backstage door burst open. A greasy, overweight man walked in. It wasn’t my father. Brianna immediately ran to him, clung to his arm, and burst into tears. “Thank God you’re here, honey! These people are pretending to be Mrs. Marchetti and Mrs. Castellano. They insulted me and even tried to hurt me.” Then she turned toward us, her eyes filled with triumph. “See? My husband is the vice president of Titan Realm Studios. None of you are leaving here alive.” I stared at Ray Stone’s limp and suddenly remembered him. He worked for my father. He had once ruined a money-laundering route connected to one of the casinos. My father had personally broken that leg. Later, Ray had knelt outside our estate for three days and three nights. My mother had taken pity on him and begged my father to spare his life. I shouted, “I’m Isabella Marchetti! That woman is my mother, Elena Marchetti!” Ray Stone froze. His gaze snapped toward my mother, and terror flashed in his eyes. Her face was covered in blood and badly swollen. She was almost unrecognizable. He started toward her, but Brianna grabbed him. “Don’t believe her, honey. They’re impostors.” “Mrs. Marchetti would never leave home without bodyguards.” Ray stared at Elena’s ruined face, unable to recognize her. Then he noticed the lack of security and convinced himself Brianna had to be right. “Everyone in Manhattan knows Don Marchetti and Don Castellano treat their wives like queens.” “If Mrs. Marchetti hadn’t spoken for me back then, I would already be dead.” He roared at the guards. “Break both bitches’ arms and legs. Let everyone see what happens when someone pretends to be Mrs. Marchetti or Mrs. Castellano.” The location marker on my watch showed my father getting closer. I looked at their ugly faces, my chest heaving. Just wait. Not one of you is getting away.
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