Filed to story: Second Chance Mafia Bride Drama Novel
It was well past midnight.
Down a shadowy alleyway, a small, frail figure cowered helplessly on the ground as a gang of thugs kicked and punched with merciless glee. Her voice was hoarse, but every pitiful attempt to fight back was crushed with brutal force.
One of the men slammed his boot down on her shoulder and shoved hard, forcing her face into the dim light.
Half of her features were heartbreakingly beautiful, the other half twisted and ravaged by cruel burn scars.
“Jesus Christ, what the hell is that? Turn her over, will you? I’m gonna be sick if I have to look at that!”
“Is this really the woman Nicholas Salerno married? The guy could have anyone in the world. Why would he want a freak like her?”
“Who knows? Maybe rich guys are into weird stuff. Whatever, just quit yapping and finish the job. We need proof she’s dead.”
The kicks and fists started again.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed at the alley’s mouth.
A man and a woman approached arm in arm, dressed in elegant evening wear, the picture of privilege and charm.
“Well, well, Mr. Salerno, Ms. Greco. Didn’t expect you to show up in person. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of her. She’ll be good and dead, guaranteed.”
The thugs grinned obsequiously.
Serena Greco struggled to lift her head, hatred burning in her eyes.
“It’s… you?!”
Rubina. Damien.
Once, Rubina had been her closest bestie, and Damien-the man she loved more than anyone. Now, they were here to make sure she died, as if destroying her life hadn’t been enough.
“Why?” she croaked.
“Why?” Damien looked down at her, voice cold and distant. “Uncle Nicholas’s dead. You’re not useful anymore. There’s no reason to keep you around.”
Rubina’s lips curled in a poisonous smile. “Serena, since you’re about to die, let me be honest. We only ever needed you for Nicholas’s fortune. But now that he’s gone-and the money’s all ours-your part’s done. You can die now.”
Nicholas Salerno. The most powerful, wealthy man in the Empire. Rubina’s eyes blazed with envy-how could a woman like Serena inspire such devotion in a man like him?
Serena’s mind reeled.
“Nicholas… Salerno… is dead?” she rasped.
“A car accident, three days ago,” Rubina answered, a cruel little laugh escaping her. “He traded his life for yours. Didn’t anyone tell you when you woke up?”
She waved a dismissive hand, and the beating resumed, more vicious than before.
Serena drifted in and out of consciousness, skin ashen, mind fogged. Nicholas… I’m sorry… Tears slipped silently down her cheek. In her haze, she saw his face-those cold, commanding eyes watching her from afar.
Nicholas Salerno. The enigmatic lord of the Salerno family, the most ancient and secretive in the country. A man who ruled with an iron fist and answered to no one. Her husband, in name at least.
And now, because of her, he was dead.
If only she could turn back time. Back to the day she’d foolishly trusted the wrong people. Back to before she’d hurt Nicholas.
A black sedan pulled to a sudden stop at an intersection, jolting the girl in the backseat awake.
“Ms. Greco, we’re here. Mr. Salerno is waiting for you just ahead!” the driver, Martin, announced.
Serena blinked, dazed, her mind still foggy from the nightmare. But Martin’s words snapped her to attention.
Wait… what?
She instinctively touched her face-smooth, unmarked, no sign of burns. Her eyes widened in disbelief at the unfamiliar, untouched skin.
Martin called again, impatient, “Ms. Greco-?”
“…Keep driving,” Serena whispered, voice trembling with shock.
Martin hesitated, surprised. “But Mr. Salerno is gravely ill. Ms. Greco, you can’t just turn away now!”
“I said, drive on. Take me to Rosewood Manor.”
Her voice was hoarse but resolute, shaky with emotion.
No one could have guessed how wildly her heart was pounding.
She remembered this moment. Nicholas had just moved from Riverton to Fairhaven to recover from his illness, and today was the very day she, forced by the marriage contract between her mother and the Salerno family, would become his bride and set foot in Rosewood Manor for the first time!
Thinking of that man, her eyes filled with tears in an instant.
Who could have imagined that the one she had always tried to avoid-had even betrayed-would turn out to be the only person who truly cared for her?
She’d been afraid of him, run from him, even sold him out. She’d watched as the once untouchable Mr. Salerno fell from grace. And in the end, he was the one who gave his life to save hers.
Serena fought back the rising tide of grief.
In her previous life, on this very day, she’d let her stepsister Rubina convince her to elope with Damien.
Now, glancing up at the rearview mirror, she met Martin’s startled gaze, her eyes red-rimmed and fierce.
She knew-Martin was one of Rubina’s people.
Martin, clearly unnerved, stammered, “Alright-alright, I get it!”
Her phone buzzed. Serena picked it up.
[Rubina: Serena, don’t worry about leaving with Mr. Salerno. I’ll take care of the rest for you!]
A flash of cold hatred crossed her eyes. Without hesitation, she shut off the phone.
The closer the car drew to Rosewood Manor, the more turbulent her thoughts became.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the gates.
Upstairs in the manor, a tall figure sat in a wheelchair, his piercing gaze fixed on the car as it rolled to a stop below.
“Mr. Salerno, Ms. Serena Greco has arrived.”
Logan, his right-hand man, spoke quietly at his side.
Nicholas’s eyes lowered. “How many does that make this month?”
Logan hesitated. “…She’s the fourth.”
Ever since Mr. Salerno had come to Fairhaven and publicly announced his search for a wife, this was the fourth woman he’d married this month.
The first lasted a week-dead.
The second fell apart after two days-completely lost her mind.