Filed to story: Second Chance Mafia Bride Drama Novel
Trying to salvage the moment, she forced a shaky smile. “Dad…”
But Gabriel’s expression stayed icy cold.
Serena’s lips curled in a silent, bitter smile. Her father-he’d always put self- interest above all else.
She’d just planted a time bomb under Rubina; from now on, life in the Greco house wouldn’t be so easy for her stepsister.
Then Serena’s gaze slid over to Martin, standing awkwardly in the corner. Her eyes went glacial. “Martin,” she said sharply. “Don’t bother coming to work tomorrow. You’re fired.”
“Ms. Greco…?” Martin’s face went sheet white.
The rest of the room turned to watch.
Serena stared him down, her voice cold. “Years ago, when your father’s gambling debts nearly destroyed your family, it was my mother who stepped in- she paid off the debt and gave you this job. But instead of gratitude, you repay us by stabbing me in the back, conspiring with people who wish me harm. Why should we keep you here?”
She gave him a withering look. “Even if I didn’t fire you, do you really have the nerve to stay?”
Martin looked desperate, scrambling for something to say. “But… Mr. Greco calls the shots now…”
Serena almost laughed. How could he be so na?ve at his age? After today, Gabriel would be glad not to see him again-he was lucky to be leaving with his job as his only loss.
She turned to Gabriel. “Dad, are you going to keep him around?”
As expected, Gabriel barked, “Get out. You’re fired.”
The whole mess with Rosewood Manor had nearly fallen apart because of Serena’s supposed elopement, and Gabriel couldn’t bring himself to punish Rubina, the true culprit. Martin, having played his part, had just walked straight onto the firing line.
Serena left the Greco estate in surprisingly high spirits.
Nora walked her to the front steps, then let out a long sigh. “Serena, you’ve changed so much all of a sudden. I’ve always treated you like my own daughter, and Rubina has always seen you as a sister. But ever since you married into Rosewood Manor, you treat us like strangers-worse, like enemies.”
Your own daughter? A sister?
The words nearly made Serena laugh out loud.
She thought back to everything this mother-daughter duo had done in her previous life, a cold, cutting glint flashing through her eyes.
“After Rubina schemed against me like that, how stupid would I have to be to still think of her as my sister?”
She fixed Nora with a gaze that held none of her old trust or dependence-only a chilling, probing distance.
“Mrs. Sinclair, you haven’t done anything you’ll regret, have you?”
Nora’s heart skipped a beat, but she forced a warm smile. “What are you talking about, silly girl? After all these years, you know exactly how I’ve treated you.”
Serena’s lips curled in a frosty half-smile. She said nothing more, just turned and walked away.
As the car pulled away, Nora’s gentle expression vanished, replaced by a dark, furious scowl.
That little wretch really has gotten smarter.
Rosewood Manor.
No sooner had Serena stepped out of the car than she spotted Nicholas arriving home, his own car pulling up at the curb.
Her eyes lit up. With a lightness in her step, she ran over.
“Darling!”
Nicholas had just climbed out of the car. At the sound of her voice, he looked up. “You’re back?”
His deep voice carried a magnetic warmth, and his strikingly handsome features made her heart skip a beat.
Serena’s pulse jumped despite herself. She hurried over and, without hesitation, took over for Logan, ready to push Nicholas’s wheelchair.
Remembering the call she’d made to him earlier at the Greco household, she suddenly grinned. “Honey, those things you said over the phone-did you really mean them?”
“Hm? What things?” Nicholas tilted his head, looking slightly puzzled.
Serena glanced at Logan.
Logan cleared his throat awkwardly. “… Mr. Salerno didn’t say quite that much, but… that was the general idea.”
And, well, he might have embellished a little.
Serena had suspected as much-knowing Nicholas, there was no way he’d say anything quite so sentimental!
Still, she was delighted with Logan’s improvisation, and happily gave him credit in front of Nicholas.
Nicholas cast Logan a cool, unreadable glance.
Logan stiffened instantly and bowed his head respectfully.
But Nicholas let it go, turning his attention back to Serena. “Did someone give you trouble?”
There was a dangerous edge in his tone. Serena was suddenly reminded-just as in her previous life, even when she’d believed all the rumors about him and kept him at arm’s length, he had never let anyone bully her.
A warmth spread through her chest. She smiled, “Don’t worry, I can handle myself.”
That answer was all the confirmation Nicholas needed-someone had tried to hurt her.
His eyes darkened, his voice icy. “You’re my wife now. Rosewood Manor stands behind you. In all of Fairhaven, no one has the right to make you suffer-don’t ever feel like you have to put up with it.”
The way he spoke arrogant, utterly dismissive of anyone who might stand in their way-was irresistibly charming.
Serena felt her breath catch as she looked at him, still so tall and commanding even seated in a wheelchair. Her voice softened. “I know. I won’t let anyone push me around.”
Logan couldn’t help but silently agree, though he secretly rolled his eyes.
The new Mrs. Salerno didn’t look like the type to suffer in silence. She’d only been mistress of Rosewood Manor for a short time, and just look at what happened to anyone who tried to cross her.
What kind of rose-tinted glasses was Mr. Salerno wearing, to imagine his wife as some delicate little lamb?
As soon as they stepped inside, Nicholas’s phone buzzed unexpectedly.
“Go on in ahead,” he told Serena, turning away to answer the call.
Serena gave a quiet “Okay,” released her grip on the wheelchair, and obediently walked inside.
She had barely crossed the threshold when-
“Serena! Pack your things and get out of Rosewood Manor!”
The shrill shout exploded in her face.
Serena stopped, narrowed her eyes, and looked up.
It was Alice, standing there with a smug, gloating expression, surrounded by a crowd of house staff. Whatever gossip they’d been sharing before Serena entered, now every pair of eyes settled on her, dripping with contempt.
Serena’s voice was icy. “Alice, are you looking for trouble?”
