Filed to story: Second Chance Mafia Bride Drama Novel
Serena stepped out.
She spotted Alice and the others and shot them a frosty glance before heading straight for her own room, not sparing them another moment. She was in a rush to get their marriage certificate-she wasn’t about to waste time on people who didn’t matter.
Alice, however, mistook Serena’s indifference for weakness. She strode forward, blocking her path. “Getting kicked out, are you? I knew it. Someone like you-what makes you think Mr. Salerno would ever-ah!”
A loud slap rang out.
Alice froze, stunned, before clutching her cheek and shrieking in disbelief.
“Serena! You actually hit me?!”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Serena replied coldly, giving Alice a look reserved for idiots. “What’s the matter, Alice-memory failing you already? Did you forget the lesson I gave you earlier, or do you just need another reminder?”
“You-you!” Alice was shaking with rage. “I’ve put up with you long enough! What are you now, huh? Just some worthless trash about to get thrown out by Mr. Salerno! And you actually dare to hit-ah!”
Serena didn’t hold back this time. Her eyes were icy as she flexed her wrist, watching emotionlessly as Alice, slapped hard across the face, crashed against the wall.
“Seems like you rather enjoy getting slapped by me,” Serena said coldly. “Go on, if you want more, I’m happy to oblige.”
Alice burst into tears, her face so swollen that it was almost unrecognizable. She hadn’t expected Serena to hit her again and again-and with such force!
A few maids nearby were frozen in shock, sneaking anxious glances at Serena but too scared to help Alice up.
“What’s going on here?”
“Alice!”
Logan and Thomas had arrived.
The moment Thomas saw Alice, disheveled and sobbing, his expression darkened. He rushed over and gently lifted her up, worry and anger etched on his face.
“She-she hit me! Serena hit me!” Alice wailed, desperate for sympathy.
Seeing the red, swollen marks on Alice’s cheeks, Thomas’s face twisted with fury. He spun around and snapped, “Why did you hit Alice?”
Serena replied, “She ran her mouth, so I smacked her. Problem?”
“What did I say that was wrong?!” Alice protested through her tears. “You’re the shameless one, flirting with men behind Mr. Salerno’s back! He can’t stand you anymore and wants you out-what part of that isn’t true?!”
Thomas, who hadn’t heard any of this before, immediately believed every word Alice said. He had never liked Serena anyway. Now, hearing that she’d supposedly betrayed Mr. Salerno, his contempt for her only deepened.
“You think you can lay a hand on anyone in Rosewood Manor? Alice, however she hit you, hit her back! If she dares fight back, I’ll step in myself. Don’t think I have any qualms about hitting women,” Thomas sneered.
“Thomas!” Logan’s warning was sharp. “Lay a hand on Mrs. Salerno and you’ll be answering to me. Or are you just itching to get yourself fired?”
“Mrs. Salerno? Please,” Thomas scoffed. “Mr. Salerno’s already kicking her out. What’s she got left to claim?”
Logan frowned. The truth of what happened in the room was known only to Serena, and now, with Alice’s tearful accusations and Serena’s silence, even Logan couldn’t be sure if Mr. Salerno really was sending her away.
Serena caught Logan’s worried glance. Recalling their previous moments of silent understanding, she flashed him a quick, subtle wink.
Logan froze. Oh boy. Thomas was done for.
“You so much as touch me and you’ll regret it,” Serena said coolly, deliberately withholding any mention of Nicholas’s real stance. She shot Thomas and Alice a fearless, chilling smile. “Go ahead. Try me.”
“Alice, do it! Whatever happens, I’ll take the blame,” Thomas ordered. As one of Mr. Salerno’s trusted aides, he didn’t spare a second thought for a woman he thought already had one foot out the door.
Serena nearly laughed out loud. No wonder she’d been ruined by Alice in her last life-she’d trusted idiots like this. Served her right, honestly.
Alice, face throbbing with pain, glared at Serena with open hatred. She let out a cold laugh, raised her hand, and moved to strike–
Serena didn’t even try to dodge. Instead, she met Alice’s gaze with a calm, almost mocking smile.
A sudden unease flickered across Alice’s mind.
Before she could process it, Serena called out, her voice ringing through the hall-
“Darling, someone’s picking on me!”
A split second later, Nicholas’s door swung open.
A man in a wheelchair appeared before them all.
He was strikingly handsome, his presence so commanding that he exuded authority without uttering a word.
“Mr. Salerno!” Everyone’s heart skipped a beat.
“What’s going on here?” Nicholas’s gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Serena.
Without hesitation, Serena hurried to his side and immediately spoke up, “Thomas and Alice tried to hit me!”
“They tried to hit you? Who gave them the nerve?”
The edge in Nicholas’s voice made Thomas and Alice visibly pale.
Mr. Salerno was actually defending Serena? Wasn’t he supposed to be throwing her out of Rosewood Manor?
Thomas didn’t know the full story, but he could sense trouble brewing and instinctively glanced at Alice.
Alice, caught off guard by Mr. Salerno’s reaction, scrambled to defend herself. Her voice trembled as she protested, “Mr. Salerno, it was Serena who hit me first!”
She pulled her hand away from her cheek, revealing a bright red mark, tears streaming down her face. “Look at what she did to me!”
But she made no mention of what had led to the slap. Serena let out a cold scoff, about to retort when Nicholas interjected-
“Why did she hit you? What exactly did you do?”
His meaning was clear: unless provoked, Serena wouldn’t lash out for no reason.
That was the truth, but Serena still hadn’t expected Nicholas to take her side so decisively. A spark of delight lit up her eyes as she looked at him.
Alice, on the other hand, was stunned. “Mr. Salerno?”
“What did you do?” Nicholas’s voice dropped, icy and imposing, making Alice break out in a cold sweat.
She’d thought that showing her injury would win Mr. Salerno’s sympathy, that he’d be upset with Serena. Instead, he hadn’t even asked for her side-he’d assumed she was at fault.
Alice felt a wave of indignation.
“All I did was tell her to leave Rosewood Manor. She’s shameless, betraying you, Mr. Salerno! Why shouldn’t I tell her to go?”
“But she flew into a rage-or maybe she was angry that I showed you her phone and she hit me like this!”
Alice was convinced that after all this, Serena didn’t have a leg to stand on. There was no way Mr. Salerno would side with her now.
She shot Serena a triumphant glare.
But to her shock, Serena didn’t look frightened or guilty-instead, she smiled right back.
Something about that smile sent a chill through Alice; a sense of foreboding crept in.