Chapter 8
Gareth stood silently behind me, stern and imposing.
The whole nightclub was silent, and I could hear every breath. Everyone was waiting for my judgment.
I raised a finger without care. Victor stepped up right away and respectfully handed over a folder.
“The DNA results are all verified?” I spoke softly, but my voice hung over the crowd like a threat.
The men who had shouted the loudest before were now shaking in fear. Cold sweat covered their foreheads, and even their lips were trembling.
“Weren’t all of you so eager to be the father of Grace’s baby?” I laughed coldly with malice in my eyes. “Perfect. I’ll let you have your fill.”
Victor clapped twice, and Grace was carefully helped onto the stage.
Her face was pale, but she stubbornly held her chin up. She glared at everyone in the room with pure hate.
I lifted my hand and flung the DNA report at their faces. The pages were scattered all over the floor like a silent verdict.
“Come on, take a look. Who’s the lucky one that gets to marry into the Costello family?”
I smiled, but the amusement never reached my eyes.
“My sister’s carrying your child before she’s even married. What? Are you saying someone from the Costello family isn’t worthy of a proper wedding and real commitment?”
I slowly walked forward, the click of my heels echoing across the marble floor. Each step was like a strike landing on their frayed nerves.
“Since all of you are involved, you’ll hand over everything you own. That will be child support.”
I paused, my gaze turning razor–sharp. “As for the real father, he will change his surname and serve the Costellos.”
I spoke each word clearly. “The child can take our family name and receive a share of the Costello fortune. This would be the greatest stroke of luck the father will ever get.”
“As for the rest…” I swept my eyes over their pale faces with disdain. “If the child support is good enough, I might let you live. But anyone who’s touched Grace? Don’t even think about touching another woman in your lifetime.”
I turned and gently took Grace’s hand. “Come, Gracie. Pick one. Which one do you want as your pet?
“If you don’t like any of them, we’ll castrate them all!”
Bruce, who had been hiding in the corner, shrank deeper into the shadows. Just as he was starting to feel relieved that I hadn’t called him out, I suddenly raised my hand and pointed at him.
“As for you.” My voice was icy. “How dare you drug Grace and toy with her heart?”
Bruce’s face instantly turned ghostly pale.
“Take him away,” I said softly. “Let him have a taste of what happens to whoever dares lay a hand on anyone from the Costello family.”
Gareth waved his hand, and several men in black hauled Bruce’s limp body off the floor.
it wasn’t until he was being dragged out the door that he snapped out of it. He shrieked like he was being slaughtered, “Ms. Erica! Please, have mercy! I was wrong! I’ve learned my lesson!”
I ignored him and turned to straighten Grace’s collar. “It’s okay now. I’m home.”
I raised my hand, and my bodyguards brought three people forward.
They were Arnold, Bonnie, and Betty. Not a person less.
Arnold’s suit was a mess, with blood on his forehead. He had clearly already been taken care of.
Bonnie and Betty looked even worse. Their makeup was smeared as they trembled on their knees on the floor.
I walked slowly up to Arnold. Then, I tilted his chin up with the tip of my heel, forcing him to look at me.
“What’s this? Did you think that with me dead, the Costello fortune was yours?”
I chuckled softly, though my eyes held nothing but contempt. “Arnold, you backstabbing piece of shit. Did you really think you were worthy?”
Arnold’s face was deathly pale. With trembling lips, he pleaded, “Ms. Erica, I…”
“Shut up!” I kicked him hard in the shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.
“You preyed on my sister’s kindness and used her sincerity like a bargaining chip. And you teamed up with these rats to bring down my family.”
I leaned down and hissed, “Tell me, how should I thank you for that?”
Bonnie suddenly screamed, “Ms. Erica! It was Arnold! He lied to us! We-”
I backhanded her hard, splitting her lip.
“And who do you think you are, speaking in front of me?”
I gave her twisted face a cold, disgusted look. “I heard you like stealing other women’s men?”
Bonnie’s body shook as she frantically shook her head.
“Then we’ll send you somewhere full of men. You can steal as many as you want!”
Before I finished speaking, two of my bodyguards had already lifted her off the floor.
She thrashed wildly, her perfectly curled hair sticking to her pale face in disarray. “Please, Ms. Erica! I’m begging you!”
But it didn’t matter how hard she pleaded. She was dragged away like a ragdoll.
My heels clicked sharply against the marble floor as I strolled up to Betty. She was slumped on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, too afraid to even
meet my eyes.
“You like slashing other people’s faces, don’t you?”
Betty’s eyes went wide. Huge teardrops fell, but she didn’t dare to move.
“What a coincidence. So do I.” I sneered.
Victor handed me a delicate silver blade. I traced it gently across Betty’s cheek.
“But I prefer to watch others doing it… to themselves,” I said.
The knife clattered to the floor in front of her.
The
hall was eerily silent, and all I could hear was Betty’s frantic breathing.
“I’ll kneel. I’ll admit I was wrong. Please, I beg you. Let me go!” Betty pleaded.
But what a pity. All her begging was useless.
I couldn’t be bothered to listen to her wail, so I had the bodyguards take her away.
Then I turned to Arnold, whose face was ashen, drained of all hope.
“As for you, Arnold Tucker. A traitor like you doesn’t deserve sympathy. Didn’t you always dream of the open sea?”
I gave an order. “Send him there. You know what to do.”
Victor stepped forward and said, “Don’t worry, Ms. Erica. Everything’s already been arranged on the open seas. I’ll make sure everything is handled perfectly for you.”
Arnold suddenly lunged up. But a bodyguard kicked him hard behind the knee, sending him back to the floor.
Veins were bulging on his forehead. He pleaded, “For 20 years I’ve broken my back for the Costellos-”
“Broken your back?” I gave a sudden laugh. “You were just busy making everything the Costellos owned yours.”
I didn’t even bother sparing him another glance and sank lazily onto a couch.
Gareth immediately came over. He cradled my reddened hand and blew gently on it, as if to soothe it. He said, “Next time, let me do it. There’s no need to dirty your hands.”
I smiled and pulled my hand back, then gently helped Grace to her feet.
As we left, I caught a glimpse of Victor whispering into his phone. “Yes. Alive. Ms. Erica said Mr. Tucker should take his time and enjoy the view out on the high seas.”
Behind us, the nightclub doors slowly closed, shutting out every scream and cry of despair.
