Chapter 3

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.”