The Don’s Dead Bride Chapter 07

The Don’s Dead Bride Chapter 07

Halfway through the gala, I excused myself to the bathroom.

I’d just stepped out, touching up my lipstick, when a dark figure blocked the hallway.

Luca.

He reeked of bourbon. His eyes were bloodshot.

“Nice act,” he growled, backing me into the wall. “You even changed your voice. You’ve been busy these five years.”

I looked at him calmly, not a trace of fear on my face.

“Mr. Romano, this is the women’s restroom. You’re being rude.”

“Rude?”

He laughed—a jagged sound—and grabbed my wrist, pinning me to the wall.

“You weren’t worried about being rude when you torched that clinic, were you? Or when you left me a fake body?”

“Elena, you’re a vicious little bitch.”

“You let me cry over a pile of charred meat for three goddamn years!”

His grip tightened. Pain shot up my arm.

“That’s a touching story, Mr. Romano. But I really don’t see how it involves me.”

I raised my other hand and slapped him across the face.

Crack!

The sound echoed down the hallway.

Luca’s head snapped to the side.

He froze.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected the timid little girl who used to obey his every command to hit him.

“Show some respect.” I glared at him, rubbing my reddened wrist. “I’m not your sister. I’m not your punching bag.”

“Touch me again, and I’m calling the cops.”

I pushed past him, my heels clicking against the floor.

He didn’t follow.

But I could feel his eyes burning into my back.

Back in the ballroom, Matteo was waiting for me with two glasses of champagne.

“Something happen?” He stared at my wrist, his face darkening.

“Nothing. Just got bit by a dog.” I took a glass, unfazed. “But the dog wasn’t as smart as I thought he’d be.”

The host took the stage and announced something big.

“The Romano family is donating ten million dollars to establish the Elena Rossi Leukemia Foundation.”

“At the same time, Mr. Romano is offering a global reward for any specialist who can cure his fiancée, Mrs. Isabella.”

The room erupted.

Everyone knew what that foundation name meant.

Luca was memorializing his “late” sister.

What touching tribute.

If I hadn’t watched him order my execution with my own eyes, I might have believed it.

I swirled my glass and looked up at the pitiful man on stage.

“Matteo,” I murmured.

“Do me a favor.”

“Spread the word that Dr. Alessia is in town.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What are you planning?”

I took a sip of champagne and smiled like the devil.

“She wants a cure?”

“I’ll give her one myself. I want her to know what hell really feels like.”